Morish Nuts

The annual Taste of Sydney Show from 8th - 11th March kicked off our Eastern Walkabout, and what a great way to begin our East-coast Morish adventure. The weekend pop-up restaurant festival that will give you 'an unforgettable gourmet experience' complete with eating, nibbling, drinking, tasting and shopping - a foodie's haven!

 

Well, as the best shows always go, this one was off to an interesting start - the first day of the show had to be cancelled last minute due to the crazy weather in Sydney. A massive downfall of rain, and it didn't look like it was going to stop! So much rain in fact, that a guy at Bondi wearing a wet suit sitting at the foot of some stairs looked like he was sitting under a waterfall!

 

The rest of the weekend was looking fairly unpromising at that point!

 

But then, miraculously, the following day the sun was out and you wouldn’t have known that there was even a light shower, let alone torrential winds and rain only just the day before. So we had 3 glorious days of show time fun, and there were plenty of characters and Morish lovers that we met through the weekend.

 

Photo: Taste of Sydney 

One keen customer departed our stand with a gift of Soft Nougat for a friend - we've been informed that it didn't quite make it to the recipient, and she'll now be shopping for replacement Nougat bars for her friend AND herself on our website! (Too right, we say!)

 

We also spotted Simon Leong, who loved our Macadamias! You can see his blog about the whole festival here - it takes a lot of effort and a keen stomach to get round to ALL the exhibitors in just 3 days!!

 

So in the end the show was a great success, and a great start to another Eastern Walkabout. The next stop will be the Newcastle Show this weekend!

National Nut Day is celebrated on October 22nd in the USA and UK, but given that we're nutty about those little things EVERY day, we've decided to pay particular attention to the grandness of nuts in order to join in the festivities.

Apart from the huge health benefits and yummy snack options - nuts have a pretty cool appearance through history.

Peanut butter was developed in 1890 by a doctor in St. Louis who ground peanuts to give to elderly patients as an easily digestible food. In actual fact, peanut butter has a few more uses than the regular sarny - the natural oils found in peanut butter can remove gum from your hair. So mum's and dad's, it's ok to let your kids go nuts (haha) with a stick of Hubba Bubba, so long as you've stocked up on the PB.

 

 

In Celtic lore the Hazel tree is the tree of knowledge. Apparently (this is a rough translation of ancient myth) there was a sacred pool in Ireland that was surrounded by 9 Hazel trees. Hazelnuts would drop from these trees into the water, and be eaten by salmon - and legend has it that if you ate the salmon you would be granted with immense knowledge. Nice!

 A native Australian tree, the Bunya Pine, produces large cones of Bunya nuts once every 3 years. When this happened, Aboriginals would hold a Bunya Feast in the mountains of Queensland (the only place these trees grow) to celebrate (and eat and eat and eat!). We like to do that with our Morish Family Mix after every batch… but that's just us!

Pistachios managed to always make it into the knapsacks of travellers and explorers in those early days - this is because of their high nutritional value and long storage life. So if you don't have pistachios in your trail mix these days, you really need some upgrading to the original snack-a-thon food.

That goes for you too, Dora.

Almonds are a world favourite. Tutankhamen had them in his tomb, the ancient Romans loved them, Shakespeare wrote about them, and reference to the humble almond are even found in the Bible. We'll say no more.

   

And a few other pieces of trivia, just for fun…

..Walnuts shells are a specialist medium used for polishing.

.. Some American states have officially appointed nuts as their State Nut - Missouri has the Eastern Black Walnut, Alabama and Texas both adore the Pecan, and Oregon names the Hazelnut as the State representative.

..Pecans come in a variety of sizes, correct terminology is "mammoth, extra large, large, medium, small and midget".

..Macadamias have the hardest shell to crack into, but the Hyacinth Macaw, Hyena and Alligator all have a jaw strong enough to crack it open on their own. Lesson learnt: don't mess with any of these animals. A human's skin is not as thick as a macca's shell.

Of course, if you're not already a nut lover and haven't been convinced by our loving interpretation of nut history, the wonders of peanut butter sandwiches and the pecan pie are enough to satisfy us!

Happy National Nut Day!
October 22nd

The Royal Adelaide Show is just a few days away, and just like you we're at the "so excited we can barely sleep" level of enthusiasm.

One of the reasons we're SUPER excited for this year's show is that we'll have our brand new Morish Tamari Almonds there, and show goers will be among the FIRST to try our newest savoury delight. Oven roasted Australian almonds bathed in tangy tamari sauce… If you're a fan of the Morish Savoury Nibbles, you'll definitely need to give this a try!


But before you head off to enjoy a week of show-time fun, we thought we'd use our expertise (we are annual show goers after all) and let you in on a few secrets to really get the most out of the show this year!

Tips for enjoying the best of the show;



1. Try as many rides as possible

The show only comes once a year, so you might as well go ahead and release all your adrenalin cravings at once with the many rides that you'll find at the show. If you don't know where to start, we suggest going for those with the best names (just like betting on horses come race day) - Rock 'n' Roll Matterhorn, Gravitron and another called the "Fungee Bungee" get our votes this year.

We're also interested in a brand new ride, the Disco O… We're imagining something that involves an endless playlist of 70s hits - groovy.


2. Freebies!

We know that one of the biggest highlights of going to the show each year is stocking up on freebies that generally come at you from left right and centre, so take advantage of this! Hint, hint, if you visit us at the Morish stand we have many delicious [free] samples to share with you :-)

3. Eat your hearts out



Who can resist all that show food - fairy floss, hot dogs, baked potatoes - and you'll definitely need it to give you that energy boost to get to everything you want to see. Although we find that regardless of the sugar intake, you always seem to end up completely exhausted at the end of the day…


4. It's all about strategy

You're going to the show. There are a million and one things you 'need' to see or do. Best way to tackle it? Prioritise. There's only so much sprinting-to-the-next-thing-you-see-that-looks-good before you end up dizzy with very sore feet.

And a small piece of advice? Aim to buy the bulk of your show bags on the way out to avoid becoming a pack horse (PS: kids, this is not what mum is at the show for).

5. Don't get lost

Might be a simple tip, but a good one. Don't spend half your day searching for your lost cousin, because even though you made him wear the red hat and wait by the petting zoo, there's probably about a thousand others who have ingeniously carried out the same "nobody else will think of this" idea.

It's much better to stick to the "safety in numbers" idea.

6. Buy your Morish show bag

It's not every day you get to see us, so make sure you stock up and get your Morish fix while you can! We'll be back with your favourite show bags, like the Mums & Dads Show Bag ($20) and Morish Jumbo Show Bag ($40). Plus our new Macadamia Show Bag ($35)! Don't forget you can order online when your stocks get low!


Enjoy the show, we'll see you there!

Royal Adelaide Show
Friday 2nd September - Saturday 10th September 2011
Find out more about the show here.

Fighting the wind and rain did not leave much time to snap photos (Moses would have been at home parting the waters, I'm sure) but the weekend was a good one despite the less desirable weather. I have learned that truffle aficionados are a hardy bunch, even this wild weather did not discourage them.

We were 'lucky' enough to have a water feature in front of our site, and the kids certainly had a ball sloshing and sploshing with determination through this minor obstacle on route to dog expo, searching AND finding truffles!


Our new Morish Truffle Macadamia, made especially for the festival, were an absolute hit. We even had to come back and collect extra supplies to feed the masses on Saturday night!

Other food offerings found at the festival looked scrumptious….Wood spit roasted loin of pork from Il Paiolo the pizza man… melt in the mouth. Hazel Nut and Truffle soup with crusty French stick by Jean Pierre Sanchez Boulangerie - an earthy winter warmer treat perfect for the day. Alain Fabrergues of the Loose Box in Mundaring offered a variety of tempting tasting plates, my favourite, Truffle pate infused with Courvoisier cognac.

….Well, I could just go on, but it would really work much better if you just join us next year and do the tantalising of the taste buds personally!!

Truffle season has hit, and Western Australia likes to celebrate!

The pristine south-west of WA is the perfect spot for digging up the rare French Black Truffle, which come into a short season during our brisk Winter months.

And to honour the mighty truffle, we here at Morish have decided to go a bit truffle-manic ourselves with our new Morish Truffle Macadamia! Lightly roasted macadamias are bathed in truffle oil then gently tossed in truffle salt, bringing the delicate truffle flavours to the palate from the first delectable mouthful… Mmm!

Truffle-lovers are already falling in love with our Truffle Macadamias, just like The West Australian who featured our delicious new macs in their special truffle feature in FRESH last week (their office is going a bit truffle crazy as well!).

In fact, West Australians love their truffles SO much that literally thousands of truffle-nuts visit the south west to get their fair share of the stuff while it lasts! And the perfect opportunity to learn and taste everything about truffles is at the annual truffle festival in Mundaring.


The Mundaring Truffle Festival has been running for 5 years, and it's ever growing popularity means that it attracts over 20,000 visitors to the festival weekend from Australia and beyond - meaning our "little" Mundaring has now respectfully earned its right on the global culinary calendar!

This weekend, 30th - 31st July 2011, the Mundaring Truffle Festival will be held once again in Mundaring, WA. The weekend is full to the brim of truffle action, with cooking masterclasses, entertainment, food discussion panels, food tasting, wine tasting - everything truffle! You can even meet the truffle dogs!

Oh and did we mention? Morish will be there too!

So best of all (if we don't say so ourselves) you can taste and stock up on our delicious Truffle Macadamias - they have been made exclusively for the festival!


Happy truffle fest!

PS: to find out more visit Mundaring Truffle Festival

Culinary royalty has made its way into the tempting Morish collection! The coveted French black truffle, a delicacy due to their world-wide scarcity, has been used to create our brand new Morish Truffle Macadamia, a gourmet snack that is sure to please nut-lovers and foodies alike.

Created exclusively for the annual Mundaring Truffle Festival, the new Morish Truffle Macadamia is a fine food lover's delight. Using fresh Australian macadamias and home-grown truffles from The Wine & Truffle Company in Manjimup, WA, Morish Truffle Macadamias might just be the first truffle-flavoured nut to ever hit the market!

Lightly roasted macadamias are bathed in truffle oil then gently tossed in truffle salt, bringing the delicate truffle flavours to the palate from the first delectable mouthful.

The Morish Truffle Macadamias will be sold at the Mundaring Truffle Festival in Mundaring, WA, on the weekend of July 30th and 31st 2011. Some lucky truffle devotees had the pleasure of tasting the Truffle Macadamia at the 2011 Good Food & Wine Show, where a special preview of the golden packets was revealed.

Make sure you visit Morish at the Truffle Festival to get your fix!


Visit www.mundaringtrufflefestival.com for more about the Mundaring Truffle Festival.

With the winter chill well and truly on its way, we thought we'd give our advice on staying toasty. Here are our top picks of this season's winter warmers…

1. HOT SOUP
Never underestimate the power of a good bowl of hot soup! Not to mention there are plenty to choose from - "Toasty" Tomato, "Piping Hot" Pumpkin, "V…ery Warm" Vegetable & Lentil. And to warm the soul as well, "Calescent" Chicken & Corn. (Like our soup nick-names??) A very good season to make friends with Campbell.

2. MORISH HOT & SPICY RANGE
Peanuts, cashews and macadamias - all in a deliciously morish and CHILLI caramel coating. We add spices and chilli to our original caramel coating to add a bit of a KICK to your nuts - and while some might compare a kick in the nuts to "the worst pain in the world" we would have to say our Hot & Spicy nuts are more akin to a far more enjoyable mouth-watering experience that will have you reaching for another packet. Definitely a good way to warm you up from the inside!

3. RUG UP
"Rugging up" is as easy as throwing on a big woolly jumper (this is when dad's oversized knee-length cardies actually become stylish, minus the mothballs please). Just don't take it too far… We think this one may have taken a bit too much inspiration from the Muppets to look like Kermit after a stint in the dryer. Needless to say, I'm sure she is in fact very warm indeed. Winter warmer? Success!

4. TEA + TEA + TEA + TEA….
We say, make like the Queen and help yourself a few cups (and some more!) of tea. Remember: pinkies out when sipping! Tea is also good to enjoy with a few [packets] of Choc Coated Macadamia… And for bonus "warmth" points find some kitsch tea accessories, like this tea bag dipper we found (dubbed thee "Penguin Boy") that inspires people to squeal: OHHhhh IT'S SO CUTE!

5. ISLAND PARADISE
When all hell breaks loose and you've been caught in the rain, your socks are wet, the heater is broken and you've run out of hot chocolate mix, use the power of imagination and think WARM. There is a reason why bird's fly north for the winter, and this is it:


Ahhh… :-)



We hope you have a very warm winter!

In August this year, Morish sponsored Farm Weekly’s RIPE Magazine NutRipe Recipe Competition, where WA readers were asked to send in their favourite mastered recipes of anything sweet, and nutty!


A parade of tempting homemade treats made their way to the offices – we’re not sure how they managed to judge them! The winner from Neergabby, WA, received a Morish Premium Cabin Carry Bag full of great Morish treats!


Here at the Morish kitchen, we LOVE experimenting with new great-tasting recipes, so we’ve chosen our two favourites from the competition to share with you. We went nutty over this Macadamia Shortbread made by Kym from Neergabby, and the Macadamia Slice by Pam in Corrigin. Our Morish Raw Macadamia would be perfect to use in both these delicious recipes!


Macadamia Shortbread


Makes 24


Ingredients

115g (3/4cup) plain flour
70g (1/2 cup) cornflour
60g (1/2 cup) finely chopped Morish Raw Macadamia nuts
125g butter, cubed, at room temperature
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar, sifted
1tsp vanilla essence
50g dark chocolate, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 160C. Line two baking trays with non-stick paper.
Use electric beater to beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl until pale and creamy.
Sift flour and cornflour together in a medium bowl. Add to butter mixture with macadamia nuts and use wooden spoon to mix until just combined into a soft dough.
With lightly floured hands, roll teaspoonfuls of dough into 4cm logs. Place about 4cm apart on lined baking trays.
Bake for 20 mins or until light golden and cooked through, swapping trays half-way through cooking.
Remove from oven and cool on baking trays.
Place chocolate in small heatproof bowl over saucepan of simmering water, stirring until melted and smooth.
Drizzle melted chocolate over cooled biscuits.


Macadamia Slice



Ingredients

250g Granita biscuits
100g melted butter
1/3 cup glace ginger
1/4 cup sesame seeds
395ml condensed milk
1/3 cup coconut
1 cup Morish Raw Macadamia nuts
250g dark chocolate

Method

Preheat oven to 160C.
Crush Granita biscuits finely. Add to melted butter. Press into greased and lined 7 x 11cm tin.
Sprinkle with finely chopped glace ginger and sesame seeds. Pour over tin of condensed milk.
Press finely chopped macadamia nuts and coconut into condensed milk.
Bake for 35 mins or until it bubbles and browns. Remove from oven and cool.
Melt chocolate and pour over top of slice. Cool. Cut into slices.


We think these fantastic sweet treats are very... What's the word? Morish!