GOOD READS

Readall about it

Recline in your favourite chair with one of these beauties.

FIRST NATIONS FOOD COMPANION

Damien Coulthard & Rebecca Sullivan | Murdoch Books | $50.00 In recent years there has been a noticeable surge in the interest of Indigenous Australian foods and the ingredients used for thousands of years by the First Nations people. It makes sense that Indigenous native foods would grow best where nature has put them, as opposed to the exotic and introduced species which hail from another part of the world and another climate, and which require extensive artificial means to ensure their protection and a high yield. This book is an immensely comprehensive reference of Indigenous ingredients, with more than 100 recipes. Each ingredient has information for growing, storing, use and foraging or harvesting, along with a drawing and botanical information. The move towards Indigenous foods is not a trend. It is an adventure into new flavours with added benefits to health, lifestyle and sustainability.

Thanks to Annie’s Books on Peregian, we have a signed copy of First Nations Food Companion to give away. For your chance to win this prize, head to saltmagazine.com.au and click on the win tab to enter.

Book giveaway

NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENS HERE

Heather Rose | Allen & Unwin | $33.00 Heather Rose’s many literary awards include the 2017 Stella Prize for The Museum of Modern Love and the 2020 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year for Bruny. She is the author of eight books in total, and has recently published her luminous memoir Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here, attracting critical acclaim. This is Heather Rose’s deeply personal story; one of tragedy and healing, darkness and revelation. She takes us by her side on her journey of discovery, from her intense grief to a place of joy. Heather’s quest for the interconnectivity of all living things with the human animal takes her to the sweat lodges and ceremonies of the Indigenous Lakota people of America, and to the red desert where she loses, and finds, herself in the inhospitable yet revelatory Australian outback. This is a story of love, loss and adventure. Heather Rose writes like an angel. For those readers who loved Phosphorescence and The Space Between the Stars.

SURF LIFE: WOMEN WHO LIVE TO SURF AND CREATE

Gill Hutchison & Willem-Dirk du Toit | Thames & Hudson | $50.00 Surfing is a communion with nature, a balm for the soul, a physical workout and the fastest growing sport for women in Australia. Throughout surfing history, women have oft en been marginalised and ignored, but it is apparent that this has changed over the more recent years. Australia has produced some of the greatest women surfers on the planet, broadening the interest in the sport, and we have seen women entering the surf industry as owners and operators of surf-related industries. This book is a celebration of women’s surfing. It is a lavishly published collection of Australian surfers’ stories, filled with fabulous photographs. Each chapter profiles one woman, along with a short biography and the relationship she has with the ocean and surfing. There are three of our very own local surfers featured in this stunning book, which will sit very nicely on a beachside coff ee table.

THE BOOK OF ROADS & KINGDOMS

Richard Fidler | Harper Collins | $40.00 Richard Fidler is Australia’s most-loved radio journalist. Conversations on ABC Radio features guests from many walks of life, including authors, and Richard always manages to dig deep, creating a fascinating and entertaining interview – every single time. But there is more than one string to Fidler’s bow! When he is not on air, Richard is a successful history writer. He recently published his fourth book, The Book of Roads and Kingdoms, following on from the success of Ghost Empire, Saga Land and The Golden Maze. This new book is concerned with the medieval wanderers who travelled to the edges of the world during Islam’s fabled Golden Age. This was a time when the rulers of Baghdad presided over an empire which stretched from India to the Americas, and enjoyed the richness of culture, science and philosophy, as well as a thriving economy. Richard Fidler is a storyteller, and in this book he weaves together history and personal stories from an intriguing era, into an engrossing and eloquent reading adventure.

Book reviews by Annie’s Books on Peregian, 8 Kingfisher Drive, Peregian Beach. 5448 2053 or anniesbooksonperegian.com.au The online picks were selected by salt HQ.

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OUR TOP FIVE ONLINE PICKS

Fly around the earth without leaving your armchair. The GOOGLE EARTH downloadable program even lets you zoom in and out and when you get close to the ground you will find links to pictures contributed by users, as well as Wikipedia links, and enough to keep you busy for a few hours. earth.google.com Build your own virtual world at WORLD OF WARCRAFT. This clever site lets you create a personal action figure, or avatar that walks and talks. When you’re in one of these worlds, your avatar interacts with the avatars of other people who are logged on to virtual surroundings that range from quite realistic to truly fantastic. The biggest, most successful online worlds are World of Warcraft , which costs money, and RuneScape, which is free. worldofwarcraft .com play.runescape.com Curious to know what song was a number one hit on the day you were born? Head over to PLAYBACK.FM where you can take a trip down memory lane simply by typing in your birthday details. This site also leads to lots of other fun facts such as the number one book and movie on your date of birth plus the most famous people who share your birthday. So much fun to try with your friends. playback.fm/birthday-song Looking for ways to waste less food and use up all the random items in your fridge and pantry? We have found the perfect solution. Check out MY FRIDGE FOOD. Simply type in the ingredients you have and you will discover endless recipe suggestions to create easy delicious meals. How good is that! myfridgefood.com Ever wonder if there was a source that could answer just about any question? Well, look no further than WOLFRAM ALPHA. From complex calculations to answering questions from any field, the clever tool has the knowledge base and AI technology to do it all. wolframalpha.com

BAR&RESTAURANT

MODERNAUSTRALIANCUISINE INANICONICGARDENSETTING

FairhillNativeBotanicGardens 114-132FairhillRoadNinderry (nearYandina)

Locky Craven

LOVE, ART, SCIENCE and sunshine

WORDS LINDA READ PHOTOS LISA PEARL

A WORLD-CLASS organic certifi ed rum distilled in the Sunshine Coast rainforest? No worries. Or Nil Desperandum, to be precise. That’s the name of the rum – the Latin phrase meaning ‘nothing to despair of’, or ‘no worries’ in the Australian vernacular – launched in February 2022 by a distillery in Woombye that’s making heads turn.

With a new batch set for release in March 2023, the Nil Desperandum range of rums is the second brand for the distillery, which has had great success with the Sunshine & Sons range of spirits, featuring its wildly popular gins, since 2020.

Founded in 2019 by good mates Matt Hobson, Michael Conrad, Daniel Vinson and head distiller Adam Chapman, the distillery is uniquely positioned in a serene patch of rainforest a stone’s throw from the region’s iconic Big Pineapple.

With Sunshine & Sons continuing to make a signifi cant mark in the retail liquor and bar market in Queensland, the March 2023 rum release is set to catapult Nil Desperandum and its makers nationwide in 2023. “We’re very excited, not only to

Founder Michael Conrad

sustain the excellent products we have in our Sunshine & Sons range, but in our Nil Desperandum rum products,” says co-owner Matt Hobson. Producing a good rum takes time – it’s required to be aged for a minimum of two years by Australian law – and Matt promises it will be worth the wait. “We are really pushing the boundaries of just how good an Australian rum can be,” he says, noting the brand proudly took out ‘Best Pot Still Rum’ at November’s Australian Rum Awards, surrounded by the who’s who in the exciting world of Australian rum.

“You have to have a vision and a passion and a love of what you’re doing to start a business and to spend multiple millions of dollars to produce a spirit that’s aging in a barrel. We already know with this year’s releases how good that rum is, and we’re very excited that we’ll be building on that success.”

But it’s not only rum-drinkers who stand to gain; farmers and the environment are also the benefi ciaries of the rum’s production process.

Matt explains: “Obviously there’s a very signifi cant waste output from distilling,” he says. “In many, if not most distilleries around Australia, that goes to trade waste; it’s effl uent.

“We’re very fortunate that in our rum production we’re using organiccertifi ed molasses. The waste product from our organic-certifi ed distillery is eff ectively considered to be an organic-certifi ed product, and that waste is returned to agriculture, as a feed stock supplement to beef cattle and dairy cattle production.”

The slogan ‘distilled with love, art and science’ is stamped on the cork of every bottle of both brands, and according to Matt, that just about sums up the philosophy behind the rapidly expanding distillery. “We love what we’re doing, and we love that consumers and drinkers are discovering us and loving it also; the rate that’s occurring is very exciting for us.

“We often say that distilling an incredible tasting and beautiful spirit is an art, and indeed it is. It’s far beyond a pure calculation on a spreadsheet. The ingredients, the temperatures and time, all the variables that defi ne what that spirit will taste like for consumers, to make that happen is a very old art, one that our production team, led by our head distiller Adam Chapman, absolutely personifi es.”

Art is also evident in the equipment used at the distillery – purpose-built huge copper stills designed by Adam in collaboration with specialist Australian manufacturers, with the stars christened Maria and Sarah.

While making a beautiful spirit may be an art, making that spirit repeatedly and consistently relies on science. That’s where Adam comes in again, with assistant distiller Locky Craven. Matt describes their expertise as “international-level”. All of this makes for a mighty fi ne range of spirits that are making a good name for themselves within the retail and hospitality sectors, as well as with the general public.

The distillery door is open to visitors every day from 10am to sunset for tours, tastings, and bottle sales. There is the opportunity to get up close and personal with the distilling machinery and “have a yarn” with one of the production team, who are eager to share their knowledge and passion with visitors.

“We also do a guided tasting – a very personal and in-depth insight into the spirits we have on off er. We love giving people knowledge and insight into what we’re making, and how we’re making it.”

If you do pay a visit, don’t expect a live band or loud music though.

“We emphasise the stillness of the natural environment,” says Matt.

“You can absolutely hear what’s happening in the rainforest.”

Photo: Pablo Pavlovich

MODERN ASIAN,

BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

WORDS LAHNEE PAVLOVICH

OUR EXPERIENCE BEGAN the moment we took our fi rst step up the staircase of a renovated Queenslander in the heart of Buderim.

In neon pink, the words ‘Something Diff erent’ greeted us; a hint at what was to come.

Welcome to Dee Den, Buderim’s newest modern Asian restaurant. The name itself is your fi rst clue as to what you might expect. Loosely translating to “the odd one out”, and in this case, they are – but in the best possible way.

While this place certainly off ers up the favourites (with a twist), think chicken pad Thai or steamed pork dumplings, head chef Mike Meesuwan loves to dish up something you might not have experienced before – an aromatic, creative and certainly playful display of Asian cuisine with fl avours that seem to dance on your taste buds.

My husband and I were booked for a leisurely lunch and greeted by smiling faces, fragrant smells drifting from the kitchen, and an ambience that felt both welcoming and warm, yet a little quirky too. The main dining area boasts timber fl oors against crisp white walls with a burst of colour coming from the fl ower arrangements that climb across the ceiling.

In the bar, the décor took on a cosy yet masculine design with dark sage walls, brown leather bar stools and couches, dimmed lighting; a space picture-perfect for the incredible

Mike Meesuwan and Noony Chotchuang

mixology that goes on behind the high-set bar.

But it doesn’t end there. Outside on the deck guests can sit and take in views from all directions, across the streets of Buderim, the hilly outcrops and even the ocean can be seen glistening in the distance. It would be easy to let time simply drift on by over a cocktail or two out there.

We were seated inside, right by that vibrant fl ash of fl oral colour, and opted to taste our way through Asia with seven delicious courses designed to share.

I have to say, if our bellies allowed it, we could have tried one of everything on the menu. Our taste buds were gearing up just reading the meal descriptions. Let me paint a picture – roasted duck crackers with cucumber, spring onions, coriander, pickled chilli, lychee, house-made hoisin sauce and crispy wonton skin. So much fl avour in one dish and the perfect textural blend of crunch to tender. Perhaps Coffi n Bay pacifi c oysters with fi nger lime, ginger zest, pepper berry, lemon balm and a sauvignon blanc vinaigrette are more your speed.

Add to that some classics like the crispy chicken bao with a delectable twist, and the spanner crab betel leaf – and this was just round one.

Paired with some of the best cocktails I’ve tasted in a while; the quandong sour and Davo plum spritz (a playful take on your traditional Aperol spritz) and we were off to a delicious start.

Something I found particularly fun in between our shared courses, was the list of cheeky conversation starters at the back of the menu.

I got to know a bit more about my hubby during lunch, such as what dinosaur he would choose as a pet, and which historical fi gure he’d want to survive a zombie apocalypse with.

Great icebreakers before we were back focussed on the food. Next on our menu, which we created based on the very handy interactive foodie fl ow chart, was the banana blossom salad with pulled chicken, cashew nuts, coconut, tamarind, golden shallots and roasted chilli jam. We also devoured the spanner crab salad with lemon myrtle slaw, watermelon, apple, mint, shallots, green nam jim and cashews (a personal favourite for the day). To fi nish, the best beef cheek massaman curry I have ever tasted. We paired this with the lychee Martini and raspberry sour cocktails. Divine.

And no need to fret, if the classics are what you’re after, the team has you covered, as well as creative options for vegans and coeliacs too.

There is no doubt that Dee Den off ers something diff erent.

Since opening in March, 2022, they have brought delicious fl are to modern Asian cuisine on the Sunshine Coast, and created a space for destination dining in beautiful Buderim. From the reviews on Google and Facebook, it seems the locals agree with me, having ranked Dee Den as the highest-rated restaurant in Buderim.

And I can safely say, our 90-minute seating was the perfect length of time to savour the overall experience that is Dee Den. Shared food, inventive drinks, friendly staff , and a great chat with co-owner Noony Chotchuang who talked us through the inspiration behind the menu.