Urban Locavore Box

There aren't often moments in your week where you experience a random act of generosity and kindness. People are usually caught up in their own happenings to worry much about anyone else, at least never more than in passing. However I was lucky to experience an act of generosity recently from someone who I'd never even met yet.

One evening on Twitter, I was noticing everyone posting about how they were stoked about their Urban Locavore goodie box, and I mentioned that I was jealous and I wanted one! I'm a bit broke at the moment due to being a relief teacher and it being school holidays (so no pay) and my summer holiday job being so delayed that by the time I start working there, Ill be only 2 or 3 weeks away from working again. Anyway, I couldn't really afford one this month, due to Christmas among other things! Everyone had one a box but me, so I pouted. Urban Locavore posted on my behalf, asking who was going to play Santa?! Who was going to gift me a box full of WA foodie goodness?! I thought nothing of it and ended up watching a movie and going to bed, but before I went to bed I checked Twitter and it turned out that the lovely Strawberrythief had gifted me a box! She said that it was because of my fundraising efforts for the Breakfast with Benefits that I had done. Such a nice thing to do! So the next day, I got my personally delivered box! It was so generous of her to do that for someone she'd never met. Go and read her lovely blog!

But what is this Urban Locavore box anyway!? Who started it? This is taken from their website...


Each month, Urban Locavore hand picks 6 to 10 of Western Australia’s best products and delivers them directly to your door in the Perth metropolitan area. Some products you may have seen before, some will be unknown but we are sure you will love each one.
We are a team of passionate WA food lovers. We are not affiliated with any producer or company, the only bias we have is towards local. There is a great article in the Subiaco Post by Jona Turle which gives a background on the motivations behind Urban Locavore.
We are small part of a bigger movement which aims to reduce food miles and associated emissions, embrace seasonality and local produce and support smaller growers and producers who use organic or biodynamic methods in their production.


Small changes in buying habits can make big differences.


Our Mission:
To discover & share great food made by talented and passionate producers in Western Australia.
To promote & support producers who source most (or all) of their ingredients locally.
To encourage consumers to think about and question where their food comes from and how it is produced.


What is a Locavore?
Locavore is a word which was coined in San Francisco in 2005 during the World Environment Conference and has since been embraced as part of a movement towards championing a focus on reducing food miles and associated emissions, embracing seasonality and local produce and supporting smaller growers and producers who use organic or biodynamic methods in their production.


This was their first box, and it contained some really great West Australian stuff! Paul is the brains behind the operation, and we had a chat when he came round with the box and he's a cool guy. He got the idea from living in San Francisco and has bought it back here with a more local emphasis. The awesome local products that were included are as follows;


Rochelle Adonis - Rosepetal Barberry Pistachio

Now, I'm not a fan of nougat, its just too sweet. So I wasn't planning on being able to eat this on my own! Thank you Christmas parties! I got this out when we had friends over, and went to cut it into pieces - it was pretty crumbly rather than sticky. I was a bit concerned the rose petals would remind me of eating pot pourri and get stuck in my teeth. When I ate a little chunk I was pleased to see the rose flavour wasn't overpowering and the petals didn't feel I was chewing a dead flower. It was pretty nice, chewy (but not stuck in your teeth, pull your fillings out kinda chewy!), with a nice mild flavour. I'd definitely give this to someone as a gift!


Eden Gate - Blueberry Velvet

Not yet tried this one - but I want to! Ill put it in morning smoothies and on ice cream I think! When I start working again (which means I'll be making more of an effort to have a decent breakfast) Ill likely put this on yoghurt and museli for breakfast!

This is what I want for breakfast...

Holy Smoke! - Smoked Trout

Not tried this yet either, and not sure what to use it for! Ill be happy to take any recipe suggestions! Im thinking perhaps some potato cakes?


Vesuvio Pasta - Ravioli Ricotta & Spinach

This was something I knew wouldn't last long in the house! I served this with some homemade almond pesto with basil from my garden - it was delicious! The pasta is filling, and would serve 2 of us for a main course, and 3 or 4 for a starter. The pasta came frozen and takes about 10mins to cook which is really convenient and fast for families, busy workers, everyone! I would buy these again.

The cheese was mild but creamy, and would carry so many flavours really well. A discussion with The Food Pornographer had us both agreeing that this pasta would be fab with burnt butter and sage! A big winner!


Purely Mexican - Salsa Mexicana

My bfs eyes lit up at this one. He's a chilli fiend and was happy to see this one! We've used this as a dip to take on picnics, and I stirred some into smashed up avo to make a cheats guacamole. This is a really fresh, flavoursome sauce that is really versatile - if you don't mind the heat! The chilli comes and smacks you in the face but then the freshness of the other ingredients comes through. To use it in other things such as chilli con carne or beans would be really nice. We still have some left, so will see how we use it!

This is the kinda label you wanna see..

Turban Chopsticks - Thai Green Curry
I had this for dinner last night. When you look into the jar you can see the chunks and bits n pieces of all the fresh ingredients that go into this mix. Open the lid and it smells GREAT!

I cooked off the whole jar in a wok, added some diced free range turkey meat, then poured in a can of coconut milk. I added some homemade chicken stock as well that I had lurking in the freezer, just to add some flavour! I added baby corn, broccolini, and rice noodles to make a soupy bowl full of delicious! This made 4 good portions, and was tasty. Gluten/dairy free and totally vegetarian, this is certainly a crowd pleaser! I don't know how much these retail for but I'd consider buying another one to keep in the cupboard for times where you need a quick green curry fix!

Gluten Free Cookie Company - Quinzacs
Hm this one, I'll admit, I wasn't a fan of. The cookie was HARD, I couldnt bite into it with just my teeth, and I wasn't a fan of the flavour. Might have been the quinoa, not sure as I've never had it before so I cant say accurately! But I would use these cookies, blitzed up for a gluten/wheat/soy/lactose/egg free cheesecake base, or as a crumble topping, just not as a cookie.. I just realised I dont have a photo for this! Ooops!


I love this concept and have every intention of supporting it in the future!I cant wait to find out what the next box will bring! I would love to get one each month, it's a great surprise and gives you some variety each month. It also goes without saying that supporting local businesses is a fantastic and sustainable thing to do!


Others who have gotten one of these boxes and blogged about it are;
The Food Pornographer
Foodie Cravings (who freaks out at whole fish and got Paul to hide it from her!)


Next month - BUY ONE! They're awesome. 

The Greenhouse, Perth CBD

The Greenhouse in Perths CBD, on St Georges Tce has been somewhere I've been wanting to try for a while now, and so when S and I were randomly in the city together yesterday, we decided to eat out. I had driven past the Greenhouse earlier and that reminded me it was there, so I dragged him over there, even just to see the place. It has a really cool exterior, made with wire and hundreds of pot plants growing ivy, which will eventually totally cover the building. The food is tapas style, intended for sharing which I love, and its recommended to get 3-4 dishes between 2.

Photo courtesy of The Perth Breakfast Club blog, from their post about the Greenhouse.

This is taken from the Greenhouse website, regarding their vision for the place;

All the features of the Greenhouse are carefully considered first for their practicality, recyclability, life cycle and embodied energy and then for their aesthetics and cost. By putting each decision through this rigorous process, it is hoped that the Greenhouse can provide information and examples to builders, designers, restaurateurs and the public, regarding their daily choices of materials, ingredients, and practices.

They have haybales as insulation, a rooftop garden growing produce for the kitchen and bar, and as much as possible within the restaurant has been recycled. The chairs are made from old signs, my wine was served in a science lab measuring jug, which was pretty awesome!

We were sat outside as inside was booked out, but the waiter was really friendly, and moved the heater closer to our table to make us comfortable. We had a look at the extensive drinks list, which includes some great beer, wine, and cocktails. I ended up choosing a flask (which is equivalent to about half a bottle) of Margaret River Rosily "The Cartographer" cabernet, which was $25. S ordered a Bootleg Brewery Hefe ($9) which he loved. My wine was also nice, however I tend to avoid commenting on wines, because Im not fussy. If its red and of reasonable quality Im usually happy!

Considering that 12 months ago, S was a frozen food man, didn't like most foods (he assumed he wouldnt like things before he tried them very frequently) I was worried he wouldnt find anything he liked on the menu. He has admittedly gotten ALOT better and is now on a bit of a food discovery, realising that he might like things he hasn't tried, or hasn't eaten since he decided it was yuk when he was 10. However I was still surprised when he said he could find something on there, even more so when he ordered both of our meals, and 2 of them were vegetarian.

He ended up ordering:

spiced, deep fried cauliflower

wood roasted vegetable salad dressed with salmoriglio

chorizo, fried bread, piquillo pepper, and slow cooked egg, and

sliced deli meats, aussie olives and tomato bread.

Firstly let me just say that the food photos are taken with my phone, a HTC desire, and as such do not reflect the quality of the presentation of the food to its full potential. The food looked great, but a camera phone doesn't capture this as well as other cameras do, so bear that in mind when looking at these pictures!

The cauliflower came out first, and it looked great. S thought it had a meaty quality, and the serving size wasn't small! The spice was tasty, however I found that it became too much after a while. Were I to make this at home (which I would definately have a go at), I would use the spices with a lighter hand. The texture of the cauli was fine, however looking at them, I expected a crunch, which wasn't there. S liked them alot, if theres any way to get a man to eat veges, douse it with curry flavour and fry it.

The next dish to be presented to us was the roast vegetable salad with salmoriglio. Ill admit, I had to google the salmoriglio, which turns out to be a southern Italian condiment. The name is derived from the sicillian word for "light brine", and it includes lemon juice, garlic, parsely, oregano, olive oil, S&P. It was SO nice, this is definately something I need to go home and make. We have roast veg all the time, and this sauce is a light, fresh way of taking your veg to another level! The veges were zucchinis, onions, radish (so nice - will roast them in future!), aubergine, parsnip and swede I think. It was really really good, and really simple. A dish to take home with you in your memory with a realistic chance of recreating it.

We then received the sliced deli meats with aussie olives and tomato bread. The meats came shaved, a salami, prosciutto, and slices of another salami. I could be wrong with these guesses, we didnt actually ask what they were... really nice in any case ;-) the meats were topped with both fat juicy olives, and little nibbly ones, with the thickly sliced tomato bread on the side. S thought the bread was really tasty, which it was, but it would a touch chewy on the crusts for my personal taste, and sliced a bit thick - but this is personal taste so its something for you to decide yourself about! I enjoyed this, as I love this style of eating, however it was my least favourite dish we ordered, and wouldn't order it again (mostly because of all the other things I'd like to try!).
Last but not least, the chorizo dish came out. Chunks of chorizo, little croutons of fried bread, roasted piquillo peppers and parsely, with a very soft poached egg on top. This, the waitress told us, was designed for us to crack and use as a dressing. S is not a fan of soft eggs, so I carefully extracted it and ate it myself! I find chorizo very hit and miss... sometimes its delicious, and other times I just dont like it. This time I really liked it. All the elements of the dish combined made a more-ish, rich mouthful, but a combination that is best shared! It was really tasty, however not something I could eat alot of, because of the combination of fairly fatty/rich ingredients. It wasn'ta greasy dish, but you need to eat it while its hot, otherwise its not as nice due to the fried/grilled nature of the elements in it. Still really liked it though!

Finally, we shared a dessert... there were only 4 to choose from, and for me the chocolate, cherry and coconut was an obvious choice. Part of the choice was the mystery surrounding this dish. All the menu mentions is the chocolate, cherry and coconut. Thats it. So I was stoked when it came out, a long inch thick slice of cake, with a layer of cherrys in it, atop a slate spread with whipped cream infused with coconut. I loved it. It would have been really difficult for me not to have enjoyed it, as I love chocolate and red fruits. It was a modern take on a black forest cake, which is dated to the hills but delicious nonetheless. I was really happy with it.

I really liked the decor of the place, our waitress was really friendly but not in your face. I love that the place is geared toward sustainability, and that makes up part of my opinion of it. I really liked the food, my wine was really nice and presented in a memorable way. My boyfriend came here, as a meat n potatoes kinda guy. He willingly ordered vegetarian food, and really enjoyed it. That is such a WIN in my eyes!I would love to come back and try the other things on the menu, such as the pickled pork belly with quince, or the mohamara, pickled turnips, whole grain flat breads, or the cabbage, mint, radish & feta salad! Id love to get stuck into the cocktails! The lunch menu is similar to the evening menu, but with similar ingredients, prepared in different ways.

If you go onto their website you can also get some of their recipes, such as the fried spiced cauliflower.

All up, it cost $108, which was definately pricey. We both really enjoyed our meal though, and would go back for sure. You're paying for ambience, good food, wine and service. I feel like we got all of those things in spades.