lanacoora-chillies.com.au

Just an update. I had said that Lanacoora Chillies would not be at the next school markets due to a trip to Sydney. As it turns out, things have changed and we will be back and at the markets – which is where we know best! So, a reminder to those who know us and an announcement to those who don’t.
Sunday 27th April.
Cnr Curtis and Long Roads, North Tamborine
6am onwards (I may not get there till 7.00!!!)

On the same day, if you are in Queensland, I encourage you to watch a show called Mercurio’s Menu. Paul Mercurio, who spent earlier years as a very talented dancer (Strictly Ballroom for example,) is now hosting this vibrant foodie show. The crew came to our farm to do a segment for their Gold Coast and Hinterland special, which airs on Channel Seven.
Sunday April 20. 5.30pm – New South Wales
Saturday April 26 5.00pm – South Australia
Sunday 27th April 5.30pm – Brisbane/South East Queensland
Victoria and Western Australia, I am unsure of, but keep watching. Visit www.mercuriosmenu.com.au for more information.

Hi all. It has been an age since I posted anything. I apologise for being out of the loop for a time.

But here it is, merely five more sleeps until the inaugural Byron Bay Chilli Festival. And what an event it promises to be! Loads of exhibitors from all over Australia converging on the beautiful township of Byron Bay on the Eastern Seaboard to allow you to sample their wares. The Ready Steady Cook! roadshow is coming to town, and there is a whisper of the presence of a fairly important guy in the hot pepper world coming to see what we can do. We are a little bit excited…..

However, there is a downside to chilli festivals in September. And that would be a lack of fresh chilli product. I have had a winter of drama here at Lanacoora Chillies, with pest and disease (namely rats, mice and bacterial wilt) invading the polytunnel, so yield is down. Fortunately, we were not affected by the frosts that managed to make a mess of many gardens and farms in south east Queensland. We are into our third season here, and I have to say that every season is very, very different from the others. This year, we were slow to head into winter, but when it got here, it was very cold (for us, that is.) We started our spring early, in August, and had some beautiful days.

We had some rain, after two months of dry, and it was a wonderful soaking rain, but it brought with it a cold snap. The chillies didn’t like that. Then loads of sun… and a bit more rain… with another cold snap. Then today, just for a change, we had 30 degrees Celcius in my back yard, with gusty winds and no rain. What little seedlings had poked their heads up, turned over with the heat. I am not complaining (well, maybe a little), but we are hoping for a little consistency, some nice rain, and a lovely flush of new growth on everything so the wallabies will leave my tender plants alone.

Oh, and can the spring storms stop turning left before they get here please?

Hope to see many of you at Byron to try the chillies, products and dishes on offer.

Speaking of wallabies, looking good on the World Cup front……

 

Isn’t it always the way??? Since writing my last post – yesterday! – the Sawtell Chilli Festival is back on once more. It seems that the publicity about the cancellation encouraged some wonderful people to come forward and offer sponsorship. So it is off to Sawtell on Saturday 7th July, as planned. See you there!

Well, what a gorgeous Sunday! Ok, so I was a little hesitant about getting up before it was light on a Sunday. It was the only day in a long time that the kids weren’t awake before me. But we made it to the Tamborine Mountain State School Markets. I met loads of new people and sold loads of our wonderful chillies.

On display this month we had a plate of our smoked chillies. We could have sold them a dozen times over. We now have a cold smoker on the farm which is a much slower process than hot smoking, but it retains all the character of the chilli and imparts an amazing smoky aroma and taste. Many cold smoked chillies are the Mexican varieties which are dried and smoked and then used in some of the tastiest sauces, soups and other dishes to come out of Mexico.

Lanacoora Chillies are devoting hours to fine tuning the fine art of preserving these chillies for future sale. So bear with us as we get it right and eventually offer them to all of you who have expressed an interest.

Hopefully, by the time we visit Sawtell in New South Wales for the annual Sawtell Chilli festival, (7 July 2007), we shall have some anchos, mulatos, pasillas and chipotles for tasting and purchase. We will also be selling smoked ground chillies, to complement our current range of chilli flakes and chilli powder. And as usual, there will the opportunity to taste the fresh chillies, harvested in the few days prior to the festival, and make up your own mind.

We are also now offering gift packs for the chilli lover who has everything! The packs contain a selection of fresh chillies, powder or flakes, tasting notes and a little bit of something special! These packs are available in Australia, excluding Western Australia and Tasmania (sorry) for $25.00 plus p&h. I’ll be posting a photo shortly so keep looking.