In My Kitchen - March 2025

 

March was a unsettled month with the weather went hot and cold, just like my energy rose and dipped.  With the year passing the Autumnal Equinox, I am seeing the long light evenings of Summer  slipping away.  For my blog this means less natural light for dinner photos.  I have had busy days at work, with the technology problems being particularly bothersome and time consuming.  At home I have had exhausting late nights of life admin but occasional bursts of energy to do the fun stuff and occasional catching up on homework. One of my achievements was washing my Crumpler bike bag on possibly the last 37 C day of the season.  Perhaps that was when I had a flat tire and my bike was out of service for days until I took it to the bike shop.  I wish I fixed my own punctures but I don't!  Going into the bike shop meant an opportunity to buy a new bike seat because mine was held together by duct tape.  We have eaten a lot of salads, soups, tofu bacon salad wraps and vegemite and almond butter sandwiches.

Sylvia made matcha fluffy pancakes one morning (top photo).  I have been having a pretty consistent breakfast of chopped fruit, yoghurt and toasted muesli for over a year now.  It gets mixed up occasionally and one of the best variations was the discovery of having this combination on pancakes, with a drizzle of maple syrup.  I experimented with freezing this batter and it worked well to make the pancakes with batter from the freezer.  They made a good substantial brunch for Sylvia before doing her volunteer shift at an op shop.  I have loved having stone fruit with my muesli and for these pancakes, had some white peaches.

The matcha pancakes were good practice for Shrove Tuesday when Sylvia made chocolate fluffy pancakes with hot chocolate drinking powder.  I had these with yoghurt, plums, toasted musesli and a drizzle of maple.  Absolutely delicious.

We are a fan of Tofucado.  It is a regular inclusion in our weekday meals because it is quick, easy and nutritious.  Grated tofu is fried and mixed with carrot, avocado, and spring onions and served with rice, cucumber and toasted seaweed.  The bowl above was on a day when I added corn, lettuce and beetroot to my bowl plus a scattering of furikake. 

I have been trying to eat brown rice and it works in a lot of meals I would usually use white basmati rice.  However sometimes I wonder how much of it is sold because it seems more prone to beasties than the white stuff.  Recently I found weevils in my rice - those were weevils with wings!  I have washed and bay leaved the container but I am still wary of bags of the brown stuff.  So I have been in the habit of cooking up a kilo of brown rice for meals and leaving it in the fridge for days.  It is surprising how easily we eat our way through it. 

Another meal where we used brown rice is Spring Roll Crunchy Rice Salad. This is an excellent dish where seasoned rice is spooned onto a well oiled roasting tray and topped with frozen spring rolls.  These are baked until crispy and then served with avocado, seasoned cucumber and a creamy sauce.  It is not that difficult but needs a little energy.  It is a bit oily so is not diet food but crispy rice is amazing.  Above is a photo of my first go at the dish.  When I made it a second time and was so tired that I forgot to add the spring rolls.  Fortunately we had lots of tofu bacon to scatter on our rice and veg.  So I need to make it again with spring rolls.

I saw this Creamy mushroom and cauliflower soup on Hungry Happens and immediately added it to the meals for the week.  I added lots of celery and smoked cheese.  It was delicious but possibly one of the least attractive soups I have made for ages.  It looked like the sort of the gruel they served Oliver Twist.  But it tasted good enough to want more.  I took some to work and had it with a cheese and relish sandwich for a very satisfying lunch.

When I reflected on the photo, it shows my approach to sustainability in my kitchen.  I try to limit one-use containers and wrapping but still find my plastic tubs useful.   In an ideal world I would use less of the plastic tubs but still haven't found really practical alternatives.  A thermos for soups was good but more time consuming and got lost.  Glass containers are too heavy and smashable.  But I love my reuseable wraps for taking sandwiches to work.  Some progress but never enough.

The Kale and green pea fritters from Lazy Cat Kitchen were so good.  The photo is not the best but it shows brilliant green colour of the batter.  Even once golden brown from frying, they had a lovely green inside and were packed with vegetable goodness.  We are keen to make these again.

I bought these festive green and white gnocchi shapes in December (see the packet on this Christmas post).  We finally took them out of the freezer recently.  Once briefly boiled, we mixed the gnocchi with  cheese, cream cheese, lemon and seasoning and olive oil.  The festive shapes such as trees and stars were cute but not so obvious once on the plate.  I served them with lots of salad.

Here is the furikake that I have mentioned above.  I bought it at Terra Madre with this cute tricolour pearl couscouss.  The Kura furikake was very nice but slightly more salty that I would like but it did not have chilli so that was a win for me.  The ingredients are sesame, roasted seaweed, Himalayan pink salt, and kelp powder.  I have recently read that furikake is a Japanese rice seasoning that is generally sesame and seaweed and often fish.  We always make sure we read the ingredients to buy a vegan version but I am learning that the recipes all differ slightly.

We could not resist trying these Hot Cross Bun flavoured Kit Kat fun-sized chocolate bars.  Sylvia enjoyed them.  I wanted to love them but I was not keen on the flavouring which I found too artificial. 

I baked a Healthy Chocolate Tahini Banana Bread.  The recipe I was following from Erin Lives Whole was for peanut butter rather than tahini but as a rule I do not bake with peanut butter due to allergies in the house.  I also had a black cocoa that I used so it was very very dark.  The recipe had bananas, maple syrup and choc chips as sweeteners.  I love to taste a cake straight out of the oven and was disappointed by this one when warm.  It was a bit bland.  Once it had cooled it was really lovely and the flavours shone.

On one of the hot weeks in March we had Carrot, couscous, bean and feta salad. for tea.  Such a delicious and satisfying salad.

Another good dinner was this one of sausages, a particularly good potato salad (lots of tofu bacon, celery, parsley and spring onions) with lettuce, tomato and corn.  I took this photo because it was the first time we had used the "corn buddies".  They are such a cute way to hold the hot corn on the cob.

I really love the Voracious vegan pate from the How it all Vegan cookbook.  I make it occasionally and it never disappoints.  As it is a vegan version of a pate I am never sure how it would be received by meat lovers.  I had the chance to check when I took some down to my parents place to contribute to a lunch.  They loved it and asked me to leave some when I left.  Above is a photo of a quick meal with the pate on dark rye toast, topped with tomato slices and accompanied by lettuce, coleslaw and roast cashews.

I had a ride to Bake Alley Bakes who always produce innovative baked goods.  On this occasion I had a savoury danish with ricotta, zucchini and parmesan cheese or crumbs.  I should have written notes.  I did take a bad photo of the Just Beet It sandwich with roasted and spiced beetroots, green harissa, hummus, sweet & sour red onions with fresh herbs on focaccia.  It looked really interesting.  I also bought Sylvia a morning bun stuffed with an espresso cheesecake and a caramel frosting.  She loved it.

We recently had a great meal at Noi Pizza in Coburg (see My Monthly Chronicles February 2025).  On a Friday when I was really tired I ordered pizza from Noi.  It was the first time I had used UberEats for so long but it was a relief not to have to drag myself out to the car.  I had admired E's Sofia pizza at the meal in February so that was what we chose.  It is a fantastic vegetarian pizza topped with mozzarella, grilled zucchini, rosemary potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, chilli, and friarielli cream.  I love how there is so much in the toppings that they are not distributed evenly on the pizza.  It looks more rustic that way and gave us more choice in choosing pieces.

I have recently written a long post on our local Coburg Farmers Market.  Since 2013, I have been sharing good food from this market.  I collated lots of photos from these posts and my blog and scoured my files for other photos and have written a more comprehensive post on the market.  It was an interesting exercise.  Mining my posts for photos and writing was a good way to fast track a post on a favourite place.  Mind you, this was still a huge amount of work because I have been to the market so often.  

Above is a photo of Good Brew kombucha and Flinders Sourdough fruit bread from Coburg Farmers Market.  Good kombucha and good sourdough bread are some of my favourite things to buy from the market.  The kombucha in the bottle does not match the label because I finally remembered to bring back my bottle to Good Brew so I could get it cheaper.

Also bought from the Coburgh Farmers Market is this jar of peanut butter.  It is made by my sister's company Frankly Raw.  This is such good peanut butter.  I have always been keen on peanut butter made with 100% peanuts but this PB has convinced me of how good it can be to add a little salt.  Both peanuts and salt are sourced from Australia, which is not as easy as that sounds.  And it tastes so good that sometimes I find myself eating it by the spoonful from the jar for a snack. 

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.

Coburg Farmers Market: stalls, food and reflections

Since 2013 Coburg Farmers Market has been an important part of the local community.  It has been a welcoming place to find interesting food and support local businesses.  In 2018 it moved to a more central location at Coburg Primary School (above photo from 2018) and today the traders still sell good food there every Saturday morning.  There is always lots of produce, bakeries, takeaway stalls, coffee and usually something new and exciting.  I've seen many changes over my occasional visits over the years and am very pleased it is still going strong.

Reflections: the school, the pandemic, sustainability and changes

Coburg Farmers Market at Coburg North Primary School 2016

Background and history: As a student the only food market we went to was the Queen Victoria Market.  Then when I lived in Collingwood, the Children's Farm had just started a market in 2002.  We were excited when the local farmers markets started near me in 2013 at Coburg North Primary School.  At first it was fortnightly on a Saturday morning and in 2016 it changed to weekly.  It was exciting to go and see all the unusual vegetables, taste the food and chat to the friendly stall holders.  The primary school ran a stall where the kids helped serve pancakes and lemonade.  It was the place I first encountered kombucha and bought my first beeswax wrap.

Coburg Primary School cake stall 2018

Move to Coburg Primary School.  Then the new market location at Coburg Primary School in 2018 was a welcome move.  It was so much closer to the shops and public transport that it made sense.  For a while we went pretty regularly, helped as volunteers taking gold coin donations on the gate, baked for the fundraiser cake stalls and E would occasionally busk there.  It was social:  we met friends, saw familiar local faces and found our favourite stallholders and it was a fun part of our weekends.  The food truck scene built up to having some casual meals to eat at the market.

Sign at entrance to Coburg Farmers Market 2018

The school and the location:

• The location at a school gave a boost of community spirit and participation.  It was a ready made  source of volunteers and cake stalls.
• Donations at the door.  In 2018 and 2019 the school provided volunteers to collect a gold coin donation at the door which contributed to the school fundraising.
  
• An open air setting made it a pleasant place to shop on fine sunny days and presented challenges when it is a scorcher or a rainy day.  The big sail over a large chunk of the market helps (not sure when it was erected but it is not there is my early photos).
• The school playground made it family friendly.  Parents could browse the stalls while kids played on the play equipment.  This was a great place for kids to meet up with friends as well as adults.
  
• Grassy play areas had a lot of wear and tear from the stalls and foot traffic, especially when it got muddy.  Fortunately most of the market area is on the more durable asphalt.
• Great photo opportunities.  Natural light and beautiful food with the backdrop of the historic Nineteenth Century school buildings.
• It is pet friendly.  Everyone with dogs keeps them on a leash and I have found them very well behaved and often quite cute.  At times a group has a spot near the playground to promote adopting retired greyhounds.
  
• Parking is always a challenge.  While there are some large carparks nearby at the leisure centre and the supermarkets, the Urquhart Street entrance has limited, highly sought after on-street parking.  There are many people who arrive by bike or walk with their trolley.
  
  

Photos of community life at the market: Buskers instruments, Welcome sign (2020), Animal petting zoo (2018), Wash up station.  All photos are 2018 except the welcome sign from March 2020 which reads :.  Welcome 2 coburg farmers market.  Stay calm.  Observe sensible precautionary advice.  Be patient.  Only buy what you need.  Keep coming to open air markets."  I also found photos of a rabbit called Big Pete at the petting zoo, a bushfire fundraiser cake stall in 2020 and a kids craft area in 2013.   When we were there last, there was a face painting on offer.

A shopping bag of recycled pillow case
made by a local to sell at the market:
the sign reads "Coburgers carry it in cloth"

 

Sustainability and local businesses:

• Local business were promoted.  It was chance for the community to meet and purchase from local producers.  And an opportunity for locals to hawk their wares.
• Not all of the stallholders are there every week.  The market is one of three managed by the Melbourne Farmers Markets (MFM) so some stallholders rotate between Coburg, Carlton and Alphington.  The MFM also used to manage the University of Melbourne Farmers Market.
• Less food miles.  Ideally all the food was from the area.  In practice there were some small businesses that had backyard production in the same suburb but most were either from the Melbourne metropolitan area or farms in the surrounding areas.
• Sustainability is a big part of the ethos of the markets.  Before Covid, there was a big move to provide recycling bins; reduce packaging; and offer reusable cups and a wash station.  
• Compared to supermarkets, the products were mostly more expensive (sometimes cheaper) and usually far superior in quality.  Stallholders were so much more enthusiastic and friendly because they were more invested in the business.  
• Many of the stallholders have samples to taste and are happy to talk about the product.  Understanding the source and creation of the food leads more informed decisions about the food we eat.
• Change is constant at farmers markets.  So many producers have come and gone since 2013 when we have been going to the Coburg Farmers Market in 2013.  I really miss some of them but I appreciate as small businesses, it cannot always last.
  
  

The effects of the Covid Restrictions: Like many parts of our life, Coburg Farmers Market took a hit when the Covid Pandemic forced us to change many habits.  Being outdoors, they were a great option for shopping during the height of the pandemic, when we weren't in lockdown.  We had to queue to get in due to restrictions on the number of people.  Collecting gold coins at the gate was replaced with swiping your credit card.  Anti-bacterial handwash was everywhere.  There was no more meals, tasting the products, kids in the playground or reusable crockery.  We queued for stalls at a safe distance from each other, wore masks and could not even smile at each other.  It was so much less welcoming and less friendly.

The above photos are of hand sanitiser, QR code and a June 2020 sign on "covid measures to keep us all safe".  Note that the sign tells us "come to shop, not to chat".  It demonstrates how difficult it was to maintain a community spirit during the height of the Covid restrictions. 

Coburg Farmers Market 2024

After the Covid Restrictions: I was so pleased that the Coburg Farmers Market survived the Covid restrictions. Not all farmers markets survived the disruption. It was slow going after the last lockdown finished in 2021.  The hand wash and masks lasted long after lockdowns and a few still linger today.  So many people, including me, had their routines disrupted and could not just head back to business as usual.  When I gathered photos for this post I was surprised to find that I had not been to the markets for over two years (2022, 2023).  This was partly because I was so sad that my favourite apple stall, Three Bridges, was not coming to the market any more.  Other traders didn't make it after Covid but new ones arose out of the experience.

Market folk are generous with taste testing
like this Frankly Raw peanut butter

The Coburg Farmers Market in 2025: my last visit was a few weeks ago on a gloomy grey Autumn day.  I was there to see my sister who had a peanut butter stall there.  I am biased but she makes great peanut butter.  I was so tempted by the kimchi scones and ube scrolls from Better Now Bakes (a vegan bakery) but just got some potato and chilli oil focaccia.  I also bought a fruit loaf from Flinders Sourdough, kombucha from Good Brew and a jar of Frankly Raw peanut butter.  Sylvia bought a mac n cheese stick and canales at Pure Pie and got her caffeine fix with a tiramisu from Pinto Tiramisu. 

What has been on offer over the years 2013-2025

Meals at the market

To nurture the community spirit of the farmers market, they would offer light meals to eat at the market.  There are some brick walled garden beds with seats on the edge and a few small tables are usually available to sit and eat at Coburg Farmers Market.  This is food that you can eat as you wander around the market, stop to chat to friends or eat on the way back to the car before heading off to the next part of a busy day.  Often we would wait until we got to the market for breakfast because there were a lot on offer to suit a wide range of diets.

Let me share a few of my favourite meals over the years (all in the photo collage below).  Quite a few are still coming to markets regularly such as Milawa toasties and Pure Pie pastries:

Trentham Potato Co: Those crispy skinned, fluffy fleshed baked potatoes on a cold wintery morning were amazing.  The potato lady was so friendly and patient.  I loved one that had lots of butter, cheese, seasoning and coleslaw.  Sylvia sometimes liked one with butter, seasoning and cheese and I also remember some baked potatoes with guacamole on top.

Milawa Cheese Company & Toasties: Milawa cheese company has been around for eons but they still keep producing great cheese.  I think they are still selling the triple cheese toasties but I haven't had them for a while.  In around 2018 Sylvia and I would buy one in winter to share before she went to gymnastic class.  They were huge chunks of buttery toasted sourdough bread with a gooey mixture of Milawa White, King River Gold and David Brown Cheddar Cheese.  I think they cost $10.  They were so rich with lots of dripping butter and cheese strings but so so delicious and filling.

Pure Pie: Unlike most bakeries at the market, Pure Pie has a huge selection of pastries, cakes and biscuits rather than focusing on yeasty bakes.  I particularly loved the vegan pumpkin version of a sausage roll.  It is quite a while since I had one but I am sure they still sell them.  Lately we have had a few warmed up mac and cheese sticks which have crispy crumb costing and creamy mac and cheese inside that easily collapses into a gooey puddle on your plate.  Their Afghan biscuits, canales and choc chip cookies are also delicious.  I think we have also had berry pies, portuguese custard tarts and cheese sticks from there in the past but I am not sure we have tried the quiches.  So much choice!

Sand Witch: I only remember seeing the Sand Witch once at the market but they made an impression.  Their stall (top photo) was very appealing and they served really delicious and interesting "enchanted North African street food".  My Colli-sour sandwich with a filling of 'crispy cauliflower between layers of pickles, green salad and topped with preserved lemon tahini’ was surprisingly amazing. I went there with Faye who had a Hash Burger that featured a potato cake and fried eggplant.  They also serve soup and a hummus plate and a dessert of a rose water flavoured coconut cream topped with nuts, coconut and syrup.

Himalaya Tibetan Food Truck: Another frequent favourite was this food truck because they sold quick and cheap vegan momos.  These Himilayan dumplings have a pleasingly thick dough with a cabbage and  tofu filling.  In 2018 we could buy 2 momos with salad and dipping sauce for $5.  There were a few dipping sauces of various spiciness and I think the salad was always a coleslaw with a vinaigrette dressing.  Back then, Sylvia loved momos with soy sauce and she would only eat the dough, leaving a pile of filling that I would eat.

So many great memories of meals at the market and more than a few that we brought home for lunch or dinner.  More of the savoury snacks we have had include: potsticker dumplings, giant spring rolls, gozleme, and the Village Bakery spanikopita,  And the sweet food to eat at the market included: profertjes, cupcakes, kefir icy poles, orange juice icy poles and chocolate toffee apples

As I write about more food at the market below you will see that there are many other options to snack on from the stalls: savoury danishes, cheese and olive pretzels, cherry tomatoes, crackers, bagels, cakes, fudge, chocolate, apples, berries and drinks.  While there are a lot of carbs, you can often find something for vegans and gluten free diets and we are always spoilt with vegetarian options.  One of my favourite lunches to have at home after visiting the farmers market is a good sourdough loaf, a jar of hummus, some ripe tomatoes and crisp apples.

Photos: Milawa Cheese Company & Toasties, Trentham Potato Co. baked potato with cheese and coleslaw, Il Panzerotto Taste of Puglia (fried cheese and tomato pasties), Momos with salad, Sand Witch colli-sour wrap, gnocchi with napolitano sauce, pretzel bagel with cream cheese, Pure Pie pumpkin pasties and cheese twist, chocolate cupcake.

Fresh produce - vegetables

I wish I was organised enough to buy vegetables regularly at the farmers market.  It feels like every time I visit, I have no idea of what we will need and then once I am in my kitchen I wish I had bought a particular item at the stalls. Despite this, I am often tempted by at least one unusual or beautiful vegetable and there are some I have bought regularly.  Recently I stopped to photograph so beautiful rainbow carrots and apologised to the stall holder that I wasn't going to buy them but when he handed me a bunch for free I could not say no to such generosity.  (And I am sorry I do not remember the name of the stall.)

At one stage I would look forward to the asparagus stall that had generous bunches of both thick and thin asparagus in greens, whites and purples.  I would buy them often when in season and they were so good I often lightly steamed or fried them to eat with good bread and cheese. 

I was also a big fan of the Trentham Potato Co's stall.  The woman (Alison?) who was there regularly was so friendly and happy to talk me through all the different potatoes.  The piles of potatoes also had really clear signs on cardboard so it was easy to know the names and uses of each variety.  They were sold in cloth bags that I would wash and try and remember to take back to her for reusing.  She had magnificent potatoes such as the Otway Reds, Russet Burbanks, Nicola, and a beautiful purple fleshed potato that might have been called Purple Midnight.  I haven't seen this stall over recent visits.

I am not a huge fan of mushrooms but the varieties that we have found at the farmers markets recently have been so beautiful.  Sporadical City Mushrooms and Markwood Mushrooms are two of the mushroom stalls I have seen lately with amazing displays of many varieties of mushrooms: pink, yellow and white oyster mushrooms, lions mane, coral tooth, black pearl king oyster, chester mushrooms, snow white, blue and chocolate oyster mushrooms, and shitake mushrooms.  They sell boxes of mixed mushrooms, powders, stocks, confits, sauces and DIY grow it at home kits.

Other beautiful vegetables I have purchased at the market over the years include, baby carrots, heirloom tomatoes, romanescu cauliflower, patty pan squash, edible flowers, curly kale, garlic scapes, sorrell, purple cauliflower, broccoli, butternut pumpkin, garlic bulbs, eggplant, spaghetti squash, orange cauliflower, leek, choggia striped beetroot, baby pumpkins and herbs.

Photos: cherry tomatoes on the vine, rainbow carrots, purple cauliflower, romanescu cauliflower, assorted pumpkins, kale, coloured oyster mushrooms, asparagus, crimson beetroot.

Fresh produce - fruit

Some of the main fruits we have bought at the market are apples, berries and stone fruit.  One of my very favourite stalls was Three Bridges who sold the best ever apples.  I ate so many more apples when I could buy from them than I do today now that they no longer sell at the market.  (I would love to know if they are still selling elsewhere if anyone can direct me in the right direction.)  Their barrels and baskets of apples (as in above photo) always looks gorgeous and olde worlde.  We would usually stop first at their friendly stall by the entrance to taste the slices of apples.  Their apples were so crisp and fresh and we would buy at least one bag when in season.  

Since Three Bridges have stopped coming to the Coburg Farmers Market I don't go there so much and I miss them every time I am there.  I don't buy apples there any more though others sell them.  I do still love the berries that used to be sold by Berries Direct frequently but now I have mostly bought them from Sennsational Berries.  The stone fruit in summer is just amazing and I used to love the stall that had their oranges and mandarins in baskets (photo in the below collage).

Fruit we have bought from the market includes: blood oranges, apricots, strawberries, Fuji apples, cherries, plums, Pink Lady apples, rhubarb, figs, raspberries, mandarins, blueberries, Granny Smith apples.

Photos: Three Bridges apples, cherries, mandarins, apricots, strawberries, blood oranges, raspberries, citrus fruit, plums.

Drinks

I first had kombucha at Coburg Farmers Market.  It is now one of my favourite drinks and I often buy it if I am shopping there even though it is far more expensive than in the supermarket but it is also really good stuff.  My favourite stall to buy it was Gorgeous George.  It was always fun to taste the kombucha flavours in small plastic cups and work out which one to buy.  Their Sparkling apple kefir was also amazing. Sadly they have ceased trading but they gave their recipes to Mamma Made so their great products live on.  Good Brew also does lovely kombucha and I was impressed with Good Seeds keffirs such as the beetroot and orange keffir.

Sylvia really loved the Three Bridges pink lady apple juice when she was younger.  She also loved the oj from The Orange Lady, who still comes to the market.  These days Sylvia often heads for the coffee cart.  There is one every week except on my last visit when it was cancelled and everyone had the choice between a hot chocolate place or going across the road for coffee at the Glass Den.  Other drinks sometimes that you can purchase to take home include wines, craft beers, ciders, herbal teas, cordials, and chai.  (Note that there is no license to drink alcohol at the school.)

In above photo: Good Seed kefir, Strawberry and ginger spiced iced tea, Gorgeous George passionfruit and pineapple kombucha, Good Brew kombucha, KAIJU! beer,  Mama Made apple and strawberry kombucha, iced soy latte.

Items for the fridge

I love to stock my fridge with market dips, jams, chutneys, ferments and fresh pasta.  The guy at the Take Me Home is still selling his great gnocchi but with a stern though good humoured proviso that it is fried and never boiled.  I also loved the Gorgeous George dips and krauts.  For a while the only hummus that Sylvia would eat was from this stall.  Though Gorgeous George no longer trades, Mama Made bought his recipes and makes the good stuff.  Tasting fresh made, lightly fried and salted tempeh at the market was among the many memorable moments.  Like many traders, it was a once off experience and I never saw them again.

Other unusual fridge foods from the market are beetroot dukkah dip, Gorgeous George Asian marinade, sweet pickled walnuts, sauerkraut brine.  I love tasting the jams and chutneys but have been buying them less lately.  The cheese tasting is also amazing.  I love the Milawa cheeses in particular but only buy as a rare treat.  On my last visit I had some really vinegary pickles that my sister raved about.  A friend of mine used to go to the market regularly to buy Schulz organic dairy's milk that tasted great and came in milk bottles that could be returned to the stall.  Others might like the meat, eggs and butter but they don't interest me.

Photos: Pat's organic cultured vegetables sauerkraut, Take me home beetroot gnocchi, Bite Me red lentil fakki patties, Mama made coconut hummus and chilli hummus, Basil & macadamia pesto arancini, Mama made sauerkraut, beetroot kraut and mild kimchi, Take me home lasanga, Take and eat artisan tempeh, Jam by Fiona four berry conserve.

Pantry goods

When it comes to pantry goods there are many unusual delightsto be found.  One of my favourites is chocolate.  I miss Chocolate Rhapsody (photoed above from a 2013 stall because I can't find any relevant recent photos) but you can see the updated labels in the below photo collage.  It was always a joy to chat to Patty at this stall.  She was so friendly and would chat about her latest flavour combinations with samples to taste on hand.  My favourite was salted lime dark chocolate.  I haven't seen Patty for ages and am not sure if she is still trading. 

Another stall holder I always loved seeing was Bonnie from Smalt.  She was so lovely and made smoked salt and amazing salted caramel fudge topped with smoke salt.  She made them locally and her kids went to school with my daughter.  She was always up for a chat and was very generous with tastings.

One of the most amazing pantry items I bought was from a stall holder that I never saw again.  It was the Kennedy Popcorn on the Cob.  It looked like corn on the cob but was dried so that you could put it in the microwave in a paper bag and the bag would come out full of popcorn and a mostly denuded cob.  Such a brilliant idea was both convenient and environmentally friendly.  It can still be bought online.  Many stall holders have online options but it is so nice to buy it driect from the maker.

Other pantry items that we have loved include fresh walnuts in their shells, flavoured salts, balsamic vinegar, dessert sauces, strawberry vinegar, dried stone fruits, beeswax wraps, pistachios, peanut butter and honey.

Photos: Sporadical City Mushrooms cold smoked mushroom broth dried stock, Kennedy popcorn on the cob, Cocoa Rhapsody strawberry "pink" chocolate with citrus and coconut, La Tortilleria tortilla chips, Harmony Garlic Australian garlic crush with tumeric and ginger, Cocoa Rhapsody ginger spiced dark chocolate, salted lime dark chocolate and pistachio croquant, Weyhill Farm garlic salts, Smalt salted caramel fudge topped with smoke salt, walnuts in their shells.

Bakeries 

If like me, you love nothing better than a beautiful fresh loaf of sourdough bread, the farmers market is a great place to buy one or two.  It is often difficult to choose between all the wonderful offerings.  And then there are the smaller bakes such as bagels, crumpets, pretzels, doughnuts, pastries and cakes.  Such a tyranny of choice in these beautifully presented bakery stalls.  The above photo of Small Number Bakery is the sort of view that makes my heart sing with happiness.

One of my favourite bakery goods is the black pearl buns from Flinders Sourdough.  They are dense chocolate buns flavoured with cardamom and studded with choc chips.  I have had them often and was really sad on my last visit to hear that they are not on sale until after Easter so that there is room for the hot cross buns!  How could they!  My sister love their Beach Buns filled with apricot, orange, coconut, and cinnamon.  And of course they have lovely loaves of bread.  I have enjoyed a fruit bread that I bought on my last visit.

Other notable bakeries that attract queues (there are so many good ones that it is hard to pick favourites):

• 5 & Dime: There was a time we would often buy a bag of their bagels.  They were proper chewy dense bagels with a shiny glaze.  They came in many versions: plain, sesame, pretzel, rye, cheese and jalapeno, blueberry, cinnamon and raisin.  All so good.  Sometimes one or two would be eaten before we got home.  
• Village Bakery: Another favourite bakery!  Such a tempting array of bread and pastries.  Sylvia loved the cinnamon pretzels and would hope we were there early enough to find some potato and rosemary loaves still available.  They are a local producer that has a shop in Brunswick.  I have found that quite a few of the bakers have stores in the nearby suburbs.  
• Ketbaker comes from further afield down the Bellarine Peninsula.  Such beautiful breads.  Their pumpkin, feta and walnut savoury danishes are amazing!  Their flaky Creme Koek pastry with creme patisserie filling and a Belgium milk chocolate topping takes eclairs to the next level.  I bought a honey and walnut loaf earlier in the year which was absolately splendid.

Other bakery items that have tempted us (and many made their way home) are: cheese and olive pretzels, ciabatta, berry tarts, sourdough crumpets, croissants, pain au chocolate, Sourdough Kitchen's currant buns, rye walnut and carraway bread, potato confit garlic and dill mini bread loaves, baguettes, cheese pastries,  chocolate caramel tarts, brownie with a caramel layer, cronuts, nutella doughnuts, canales, portuguese custard tarts, chocolate chunk cookies, choc chip berry scrolls and more in the below photo collage.

Photos: Five and Dime bagels, Sourdough Rustica pumpkin bread, Flinders Sourdough black pearl buns, Small Numbers Bakery Scandinavian cinnamon bun, Better Now Bakes sweet carrot cake, ube scrolls and peach frangipani tart, Q Le Bakery cheese and olive fougasse, crumpets, sourdough fruit loaf, Pure Pie pastries.

Plants

In our garden we have catnip and johnny jump ups from the market that grow like weeds.  Actually they are probably weeds to some but our cat love the catnip with a fierce possession and I find joy in the edible flours on the johnny jump ups.  They jump around the pots and embed themselves in corners of our concreted back yard. We have also bought seasonal plans such as cherry tomatoes, basil and other herbs that find their way into our meals.  Once we bought a raspberry plant but it was not a success.

I love how the stalls of flowers often greet us as we enter the market.  It is great to chat to the stallholders when we buy plants to work out which will grow best for us and how to care for them.  At our last visit this beautiful stall of cactii and succulents (above photo) was very tempting to Sylvia because these are among her favourite plants.

Photos: cherry tomato seedlings, basil just planted in the garden, catnip growing like crazy in our garden, Johnny jump ups (wild pansy) en route home in my bike basket.

Quotes about Coburg Farmers Market from my blog over the years:

June 2018 "Our favourite Coburg Farmers Market has moved to a more convenient location so we have been going there more.  (I am planning to write more about the new place some time.)  We really love Gorgeous George.  His strawberry kombucha is excellent and the ginger beer kefir is lovely, though quite strong.  You can see the chunks of ginger at the bottom of the smaller kefir bottles.  He also sells a lovely sauerkraut." 

September 2019: "I asked for a loaf of gingerbread fruit bread, 2 potato and cheese pastries and a Scandinavian cinnamon scroll at a bakery.  When they said these would cost me $32, I almost fell down in surprise.  I paid and made a note to make this bakery for special days or those when I feel quite rich." 

March 2020: "Yesterday we went to the farmers market.  It was incredibly busy.  I heard someone say people need to get out of the house and want to go shopping in fresh air.  It seems everyone wants to support the farmers too.  In Australia the CoVid19 has come hot on the heels of the bushfire crisis so we have anxiety upon anxiety."

September 2021: "Finally I was really delighted to go to the farmers market after the end of isolation.  The very ugly cauliflower roast was the most intriguing  purchase.  It cost a whopping $20.  But I could not resist a cauliflower stuffed with herb and dukkah.  I asked if there were nuts and were told that there is cashews in the stuffing.  I can't wait to have it for dinner."

August 2024:  "It was sad to hear that a few of our favourite businesses had closed including Smalt and Gorgeous George.  I was very grateful that they had sold the recipes to Mumma Made Ferments.  We stopped to chat at the Sporadical City Mushrooms.  They had amazing mushroom products.  We bought this Cold Smoked Mushroom Broth dried stock.  It was a mix of dried mushrooms and remaindered Smalt smoked salt.  The smell was incredible. It was so good I bought a jar for a jaw dropping $20."

February 2025: "We had a lovely visit to Coburg Farmers Market before a birthday lunch for me with my parents.  We used to go so much and now it is not that often.  Every time we go, it is wonderful to get outside and see the beautiful food, friendly faces and hard work of local producers.  With the world gone crazy, a farmers market is the perfect way to remind oneself that community and hope is still possible."

My purchases over the years 2018-2025

May 2018: tortilla chips, bagels, parsnips, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, turnip, leeks, choggia striped beetroot.  and Cocoa Rhapsody mint chocolate.

December 2019: mince tarts, Celtic Bakery gingerbread trees, asparagus, cherries, apricots. 

February 2020: watercress, heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, pattypan squash, popcorn on the cob, spanikopita, shallots, seeded sourdough, chocolate cupcake and strawberry biscuits.  

September 2021:  kale, yellow cauliflower, pumpkin, Otway potatoes, salted sesame seed chocolate, quiche, dense rye bread, pastries, custard tarts, choc chip biscuits, kombucha, chocolate and chutney. 

August 2024: apple and strawberry kombucha, Take me home gnocchi, purple cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, cold smoked mushroom broth, Flinders Sourdough black pearl buns and assorted biscuits from a fundraiser cake stall.

February 2025: cherry tomatoes, kale, baguette, honey and walnut bread, curly zucchini, figs, strawberries, kombucha and coloured carrots.

Finally: As you can see, there have been many good times and many changes at the Coburg Farmers Market.   I have lost track of how many Saturday mornings I have been there over the years.  Far more times than other farmers markets.  I have searched my photos to give a bit of a retrospective on the Coburg Farmers Market in 2025.  There must be so many more photos in my files and phone but I have share quite enough here.  I am grateful for my blog and digital searches to find lots of photos that show the colour and fun of the market.

The market has presented many opportunities and challenges.  Many of the issues are similar across other local farmers markets I have visited in Melbourne.  It has give us as a family so much education on food, good food to eat and interesting experiences.  Since the Coburg Farmers Market first opened in 2013 our lifestyle changes have been reflected in our visits.  However I continue to love being there when I get the chance.  I hope the market has many more good years to come.

Coburg Farmers Market
92 Bell St, Coburg (entry via Urqhuart Street)
https://melbourne-farmers-markets-mfm.myshopify.com/pages/coburg-farmers-market
Open: Saturdays 8am - 1pm

The Onigiri map, Melbourne: Daikokuten, Kuu, Chookas, 279, Ima Pantry, QQQ, Haiku, Tokyo Lamington and Nosh

Late last year, we were excited to hear about an Onigiri Map of places to buy onigiri around Melbourne with special stamps at each cafe for those participating.  It was a great way to explore different cafes and compare their onigiri.  We visited some favourite places and made some discoveries.  

All the onigiri was amazing.  One of our favourites was the onigiri with superb seasoning at Daikokuten that you can see in the top photo.  Today I will share our journey visiting the nine cafes on the Onigiri Map.  It is quite long but will give you an insight into where to get great onigiri in Melbourne. 

Upon first seeing the map, it felt quite a challenge to eat at all nine cafes in different areas of inner Melbourne over five weeks between 1 November and 7 December. 2024  Sylvia managed to fit it in by organise visiting nine Japanese cafes in three days.  Before we visited all of them, the map was ended early because it was unexpectedly popular and the organisers ran out of prizes.  We were more interested in trying new onigiri than freebie merchandise.  We continued our quest to get stamps on our map at all the participating cafes.

Day 1: Chookas, Ima Pantry, QQQ St Kitchen, Tokyo Lamington
Day 2: Daikokuten, Haiku Future, Kuu Cafe and Japanese Kitchen
Day 3: 279, Nosh

Onigiri is not the prettiest food.  It is not easy to photograph.  Yet it is a great quick snack.  Forming a handful of rice into a tightly packed ball or triangle, often with a seaweed (nori) wrapper, means it is quick to purchase and easy to transport.  They are usually a reasonable price, in this day age, for about $6 to $8 per piece.  

It was interesting to see the different ways to present it: fully wrapped, half wrapped or not at all wrapped; plain rice filled, rice mixed with filling or layers of filling; fancy toppings, rolled in seasoning, with sesame seeds or wrapped in paper.  All the onigiri we tasted were vegetarian with most being vegan and most being gluten free.  While it was mostly called onigiri, sometimes it was also omusubi, musubi or onigirazu.

 

Daikokuten

Shop 1/398 Tooronga Rd, Hawthorn East VIC 3123
https://www.daikokuten.com.au

One of our favourite cafes was Dailkokuten and we returned there soon after.  Like all the cafes, there was an endearing spirit of kawaii cuteness.  You can see the spirit of this in each cafe having their own specially designed rubber stamp and coloured ink so we could stamp our map at each visit.  This was part of the fun of the map, both admiring each design and collecting them all.

The cafe was really busy when we arrived on our first visit on a weekend and were were lucky to find a seat for a quick onigiri each before heading off for our next location on the map.  I had the Sweet purple potato croquette onigiri at the front of the photo.  It was amazing and so delicious with a amazing furikake seasoning mix coating the rice and a piece of croquette atop like a garnish as well as in the middle of the rice triangle.  The croquette was beautifully cooked with a crisp coating and soft sweet potato inside.  Sylvia had the Tamago onigiri and raved about hers with similar seasoning coating and the piece of Japanese omelette instead of my croquette.  At $6 each, these were great value.

We loved Daikokuten so much that we stopped there for lunch before we met friends for a drink and a cake in the South Eastern suburbs.  It was a weekday and the place was much quieter.

Sylvia had a matcha latte which she loved.  It came with a nice swirl of latte art in a gorgeous cup and saucer.

She could not resist that amazing seasoning and ordered a plate of three onigiri: Tamago, Seaweed, and Avocado.  Daikokuten has such a good range of onigiri that it has a separate page of the menu for it.  As well as the four veg ones that we tried, they also offer Takana (pickled mustard greens) and Kinoko & Tamago (mushroom & omelette).

I was tempted by the onigiri but I also wanted to try something else.  I could not resist the Forbidden Garden poke bowl: the vegetarian version was $27.  It was a generous plate of black rice, nori, avocado, pickled vegetables, cherry tomato, edamame, mixed leaves with sesame dressing, purple sweet potato croquette with sriracha mayo, and it came with kinako mushroom but I asked for mine with fried tofu instead.  It was delicious with lots of great flavours and textures.  

Chookas

1 Ballarat St, Brunswick  VIC  3058
My post on Chookas or Chookas Instagram

The place that we started our onigiri trail was a favourite of ours.  We were excited to be on an adventure of new onigiri but we started with some of our favourites.  Chookas is such a great place to spend time in it's beautiful old 1930s building in the leafy lane.  They call their rice balls "omusubi".

 

Sylvia goes there almost every week and I go there occasionally with her.  We don't really need the menu. I really like the Kimchi omusubi with edamame and cheese.  This is not what I would have expected but it is not too spicy for me. Sylvia has lots of favourites and often has the marinated boiled egg and pickles on the side.  She got the Yukari omusubi with the egg and pickles on this visit.  Yukari (shiso rice seasoning) is made of dried purple shiso leaves and salt.  The onigiri has a umami flavour and a tart Japanese pickled plum hidden inside.  In addition to the Yukara there are quite a few vegan omusubi on the menu.

Ima Pantry

The Nightingale Village, Ground Floor, 9 Duckett Street, Brunswick, VIC 3056
https://www.imaproject.co/pantry

We loved a lunch last year at Ima Pantry's sister cafe Ima Asa Yoru so much that we had visited at Ima Pantry previously to browse their fancy Asian groceries but we have never eaten there.  When eating at the cafe we had tried the omusubi at a relaxed sit down meal with a set of side dishes.  In the pantry it is sold as snack food that can be takeaway or eaten quickly perched on a small bench in a corner of the grocery store where they sell food that is ready to eat.

When we had the onigiri with a creamy umeboshi filling, Sylvia was worried it was seafood and we asked to check it was vegetarian.  It is listed as vegan on the menu in the cafe.  Maybe the creaminess is a vegan mayo.  It goes so nicely with the rice and crispy seaweed wrapper.  I also tried a tahini biscuit sandwich with chocolate filling that was very good, albeit a bit fragile when taken on the onigiri trail in a paper bag in my handbag!

QQQ St Kitchen

4 Peel St, Collingwood VIC 3066
https://www.qqq-st.kitchen/

I had never heard of QQQ St Kitchen but when we visited it on Peel Street in Collingwood, I found it was just down from the Grace Darling Hotel on a corner of Smith Street that is very familiar to me.  I am not sure how long it has been there but I wish I had made my acquaintance with me sooner.  

We didn't eat in, although there was the option.  Instead we purchased at the hole in the wall.  I took our onigiri to the nearby park and Sylvia took hers to eat while she was entertained by a cat in a nearby window.  Not that we could stay long.  The rain kept us moving to the next place.

QQQ was one of the two cafes on the list that fully wrapped their onigiri.  Good for eating on the run.  Bad for photos.  It had one of my favourite onigiri.  It was a vegan special filled with Mushroom kaarage, capsicum and walnuts.  The mushroom did not excite me too much as I am not a huge fan and six of the nine cafes on the onigiri map had mushroom in at least one onigiri.  But I love walnuts and it is not a common onigiri addition. It is not for everyone, including Sylvia but she loves mushrooms so that was good.

Tokyo Lamington 

258 Elgin Street, Carlton VIC 3053
https://www.tokyolamington.com/

We were pleased to have the opportunity to return to Tokyo Lamington.  It is a small space but feels very stylish with the simple wooden benches and beautiful display of lamingtons.  They have such an amazing range of fun lamginton flavours but also some interesting savoury options.  It is hard not to have at least one lamington flavour that we are keen to try.  This time we were pleased with our selections of a strawberry orange lamington for Sylvia and a neapolitan lamington for me.  

We had the Miso eggplant and Umeboshi cream cheese onigiri.  Only the miso eggplant was vegan.  Both were really good but they were filled onigiri and I got confused and ate the umeboshi one.  Sylvia did not want the eggplant one so I ate that too.  No wonder that she was not very hungry.  Both of us were on our fourth onigiri place for the day and tired.  I fear there can be such a thing as too much onirigi!

Haiku Future

1161 Toorak Road, Camberwell VIC 3124
https://www.haikumelbourne.com/

When we were going to Haiku Future, I thought we were headed to Haiku Cafe which had a great menu.  Then I discovered that Haiku Future was the Japanese convenience store (konbini) next door to the cafe.s  It was fun looking at the groceries: ginger yuzu hot sauce, saltbush furikake, umame black garlic sauce with black sesame, and matcha white chocolate bronut.  There was also some beautiful kitchenware such as bowls and chopsticks.

The store has a small fridge area which has onigiri, which they call sushi burritos or onigirazu because it has layersof filling.  It is far more vegies and less rice than other onigiri.  We tried three and all were really good.  Sylvia ate most of the egg haloumi (I tasted the bit without egg) and I really liked the mushroom one.:

• Spicy tofu: tempura ponzu tofu. cos, korean hot sauce, viet pickles, kewpie vegan
• Egg haloumi: cos lettuce, tomato, sriracha. fried egg, haloumi, kewpie
• Teriyaki mushroom: grilled field mushroom, cucumber, spinach, vegan kewpie
  
  

Kuu Cafe and Japanese Kitchen

190 Park St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
https://www.instagram.com/kuujapanesecafe/

The last place on our map that we visited on our second day was Kuu Cafe and Japanese Kitchen.  We'd already eaten well but this place was on the other side of the river where we don't go often.  So we made the most of it.  The menu demanded that much of us!

It was disappointing that there were no onigiri.  After all that was what we were there for.  We were also there for an iced match latte and yuzu soda and to share an indulgent Tofu Katsu Sandwich ($15).  They did not disappoint.  Especially that crispy panko crumbed fried tofu with shredded cabbage, though I could do with a bit less sauces than the BBQ sauce, hot mustard and mayo.  Sylvia says she would have more sauce but I would have a little less.  There should be more amazing sandwiches like that in more cafes.  It would help spread some tofu love!

Sylvia's matcha-loving ways meant she could not go past the Matcha ganache cake.  It tasted really good but I was more impressed by the colour than the flavours.  (Cake is alwys better with chocolate!)  Whereas Sylvia was delighted with all of it.  Then we convinced the staff we really needed a stamp on our Onigiri map even though it had closed early.

We liked the place a lot but, honestly, I went back because I wanted to have an onigiri from each place on the map.  After all we had the stamp on our map.  It took us until this month to finally get back there.  It was worth it just to see the koala foam art on Sylvia's matcha latte.  How cute is that!

I had a ginger soda which was really refreshing.  It was similar to the yuzu soda that I had previously.  Both were served in tall soda glasses and came with a generous serve of candied citrus rind and - in the latter soda - of candied ginger.  It was a bit odd that pieces would make their way up the straw.  I did enjoy eating some and found myself surprised both at how much there way and how it actually worked.

 

The place was pretty cute.  Not only did they have pencil shaped containers for the cutlery, but they also had chopsticks that were pencils on one else. I was so fascinated by how these chopsticks were made.  They were fun for eating my Vegan tofu scramble ($21.50).  I was so surprised that the tofu was served in marinated chunks rather than mashed, that I asked the waiter if I had been given the scramble.  He assured me it was.  It seemed more like a stirfry with tofu, vegies and brown rice in a lovely garlic chilli soy sauce.  What set it apart was that it had a generous serve of greens and I really loved these with the sauce and a good squeeze of the fresh lemon wedge.

Sylvia wanted to try other dishes but she loved the tofu sando so much that she ordered it again, this time with a generous side of fries for $3.50.  I found that there were quite a few other veg options I would really love to try such as the Agedashi tofu set, the Kakiage (tempura veg) udon noodle soup, or the Tofu salad.

 

 

And we finally had our onigiri.  The vegan shitake mushroom tempura soy onigiri was excellent, though we wondered if we had it freshly made if it would have a bit of tempura crunch.  It had a great mushroom flavour and was worth the return visit.  We were back for the onigiri but the food was really good so we would definitely love to try more of their dishes.

279

279 Victoria St, West Melbourne VIC 3003
https://www.279victoriast.co/

The Onigiri map was organised by the folk at 279 cafe in West Melbourne We visited after the Onigiri map was closed early and had a chat to the friendly staff there.  It was great to have a chance to tell them how much we loved it.  They were overwhelmed by how many people brought a map stamped with every cafe and claimed their prizes.  We assured them it was the fun of going around the map that we loved rather than prizes.  Despite this, they were generous and found us some onigiri stickers.

They call their onigiri "musubi".  I had the Shiso miso (which I loved saying) and Sylvia had a Salted kelp.  They had 4 vegan options and 3 gluten free. Best of all they did a cute thank you on the paper bag we got our musubi in.  They even drew reindeer ears because it was December.  And the musubi was really good too. 

Nosh

Galleria, 2 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
https://nosh.net.au/

Fittingly it was evening by the time we visited our last cafe on the Onigiri Map.  We tried to go earlier but we went to the wrong Nosh (the map was only at one of the Nosh outlets) and we had a festive diorama workshop to attend so we went to the Galleria Nosh after it.  We were quite tired and disappointed to find that there was no onigiri left.

 

We had the Tamarind Tofu Taco: pan seared tofu with tamarind lime garlic sauce on coconut turmeric rice and baby greens encased in housemade crispy nori taco and roasted sesame seeds ($7.50).  It was very nice but not easy to share.  I also enjoyed a Miso Falalafel bowl in a visit soon after tthat we had to go.  The staff were very nice and gave us a stamp even though the map had closed early.

Finally a week or so ago, I went back determined to try the onigiri one lunchtime.  I tried the Melbourne Centre Nosh but it is now closed.  So I went back to their Galleria cafe.   I ordered the crispy eggplant set ($16.90) which came with two truffle shitake onigiri, crispy eggplant, miso sauce and house pickles.  When I was given three options and immediately asked for the eggplant one, the staff member asked if I wanted vegan because usually an onigiri set has one shitake and one salmon onigiri.  The onigiri was lovely but I was most impressed by the freshly fried and pleasingly crispy eggplant with the salty miso sauce.  

And with that final onigiri, I completed our aim of an onigiri at each location on the onigiri map.  It was a fun way to compare difference onigiri and gain a broader understanding of what the term might mean.