Living in Ho Chi Minh City – changes, love, life and Food

With openness and refreshing honesty, John and Cass share stories of their love for each other, for the city they live in, for their homes and extended family and for the countries they love to visit.

Saigon

Living and working in Saigon, John and Cass discuss the changes they have witnessed over the past decade. The growth of the food scene around them and the value this brings for the locals, for the economy and for the future.

Food, Family and Love

John and Cass share their passion for each other and for each other’s journeys and homes.  Australian and Kiwi combined – with a twist to the story along the way!

Inspiration and Determination

As stories unfold, Cass shares her childhood and the shaping of her life as a ‘boat refugee’ from war time to the woman she has become today.  The strength of her Mother and family is paramount in this inspirational tale – one which cant help but to inspire and remind us to face life with a determination to make the most of each and every day, moment and opportunity.

A positive and uplifting episode with two amazing, successful and genuine people who you will be sure to love by the end of the episode!

Thanks to John and Cass for coming on the show.

John is General Manager of The Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caravellesaigon

FB: https://www.facebook.com/caravellesaigon

This Podcast is hosted by Vanessa Baxter is brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Listen as Chef Nicole Poirier shares her love and passion for food which has woven it’s magic through her life. Chatting with Nicole it is clear that she found her love for food early and quickly immersed herself in beautiful new cuisines wherever she went and learned the importance of eating like a local. She embarked on a career as executive chef on private luxury yachts, which brought her to some of the most exclusive and remote parts of the world.

She shares stories from a bush camp kitchen in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, to the back room of a tiny restaurant in Bangkok, to walking through the jungle to be taught the native edible plants in the West Indies, to home kitchens in Viareggio, Antibes, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca and Antigua.

Today, at home in San Francisco, Nicole embraces the opportunity to bring people together with food and bring diners to a “home” they might never have known. She truly believes in the importance of being able to taste the love, passion and excitement she puts into all of her food.

This podcast hosted by Vanessa Baxter and is brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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The more we hear about children in other countries who go hungry, the easier it is to forget about the local children who live in poverty and go without lunch every day.

Michael and Lisa started Eat My Lunch to make it easy for Kiwis to help other Kiwis. Their mission is the hope to alleviate a nationwide issue by creating a change through something as routine as eating lunch. They are so passionate about this initiative where if you buy one lunch for yourself then another one will be sent to a child right here in New Zealand who can’t afford their own.

Meantime Michael also owns and runs Merediths which is an intimate restaurant focusing on nothing other than providing the complete dining experience – that is, the perfect harmony between remarkable food, superb wine and an inviting hospitality. For this he has earned the honour of Best Restaurant and Best Chef in NZ.

It is my absolute privilege to interview chef Michael Meredith & Lisa King about both journeys, their care with regards to food and people – and its total alignment with food, family and friends and what we are all about.

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Originally from the USA, Rebeca is an amazing Mum of three, who whilst living in France has investigated and written about French school food. Because of these articles on her children’s local school cafeteria (which is local products – some organic prepared daily by three cooks and served in four courses: entrée, main dish, cheese, dessert); the French national news and national paper featured her on tv in France.

All of this has brought her to her current project which is a second book around the very topic of French kids and food. She has several interviews lined up with interesting government ministers, Michelin chefs, local city councils, paediatricians, nutritionists and more. She believes it is really necessary to add more fuel to the fire to change the disastrous eating habits and school lunches on offer in other parts of the world.

Her first book, self published on amazon, is about eating/moving/family habits of the French and has sold numerous books daily for almost a year. 

This podcast is brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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This extraordinary episode shares my journey into the home of strangers for an Easter meal on Waiheke Island near Auckland, New Zealand. Not only did I have the privilege of bringing our two families together to enjoy the experience of a collaborative cooking experience around their wood fired pizza oven, but I also had the chance to interview three generations of this beautiful family group.

The story begins with 13 year old Sophie who was moved by “that sugar film” to change her life and from that moment to become completely ‘sugar-free’. Her simple premise is that this changed her as a person and the support from her family and the love surrounding her is paramount.

Emma shares her views of the changes to their lives and how it has built a respect for food within their home. She supports Sophie fully and has generated a calm acceptance for her daughter’s choices, without imposing it completely on the rest of the family. Her care and love are evident in her interview.

Don, as Grandad shares his own love for food and his passion for having his family surround him and encompasses the vision of Food Family and Friends.

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Recipe of the Week

Soph’s Recipe for Brunch – Cacao Pancakes (very versatile; you can make as breakfast or make smaller size and freeze them for lunchbox snack).

• 1 Banana
• 1 tbsp Cacao nibs
• 150 ml Almond milk (unsweetened)
• 3/4 cup Oats
• 1 Egg

Mash banana, add egg and stir. Add almond milk and oats

Blend, stir together

Peanut butter or almond butter – mix small amount water for sauce topping and add in your favourite fruit/berries

Pour into a hot pan (use some coconut oil) and cook on each side.

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Listen as the authentic and passionate Jax shares her love for food. From very humble beginnings, to realizing her passion and turning her determination to what she loved the most – cooking and food.

Jax grew up helping her Mum in the kitchen and weaves her stories together to paint a picture of herself on stools to reach benches, with spoons ready to stir Saturday soups and a garden of vegetables for the family to live off. Memories of the strong bond with her Father in Law – a man who wasn’t to see her final successes in the food industry – but who was of paramount importance in her reaching for her dreams.

Today, Jax is an author and a creator. She is producing a Youtube series which will be launching later in 2016. Her books fly off the shelves as her fans love her bold fabulous recipes which are fun to recreate in the home.

This podcast is brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Recipe of the Week:

Spicy Coconut Scallops on a warm salad of Asparagus, Watercress & Mint

Prep Time:   10 min        Cook Time :     20 min        Serves :  4

Spicy and Sweet Piquant Pepper Paste

150 g Peppadew Piquant Peppers, drained

½ tsp black pepper, ground

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves

4 spring onions, chopped

2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

1 lime, zest

2 tsp sesame oil

good pinch salt

Pop all ingredients in a food processor and blend or whizz to a smooth paste with a hand blender.

12 Asparagus spears

Peanut or Olive oil

Knob of butter

12 Scallops

125ml Piquant Pepper Paste

200ml Coconut Cream

200g Watercress (or Rocket)

100g Mint leaves, thinly sliced

1 lime (juice only)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a frying pan, over a medium heat, pop your oil and butter and pan fry your asparagus for 3 – 5 minutes on all sides, season and remove from the pan and set aside.  Keep warm.

Take your scallops and using some kitchen paper, carefully pat dry all over.

In the same pan, add a little more oil, turn up the heat, when cooking scallops, you want the pan to be nice and hot, so you get that lovely sizzle.  Cook your scallops in batches (if necessary, as you don’t want to crowd the pan) for 3 minutes each side.

For the perfect scallop, you want to caramalise the outside, whilst the inside is just warm and translucent.  Remove from the pan and set aside – keep warm.

Reduce the heat and place your paste in the warm oil, cook, stirring for 3 – 5 minutes, until nice and fragrant, then pour in the coconut cream.  Cook for a further 2 minutes.

Take your sauce and season with salt, pepper and juice of a lime.

Serve : Slice your asparagus, toss with the watercress and mint.  Place on the plate. Lay your scallops on top and drizzle with the amazing coconut sauce.

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Introducing Vanessa our host who says MasterChef was a life-changing experience and after the competition ended, there was no point going back to life post MasterChef as it had been before. Vanessa has now combined everything she loves and thrown it together into a package which encompasses bringing people together around food.

Vanessa is a strong example of living life to the full and has always held the belief that life should not be bound by rules but should be attacked with vision and energy and loads of passion.

Think teenagers have no opinion about food and relationships?

Think again, with this introductory episode where Vanessa interviews her own teenage sons and weaves in stories of their globetrotting life as expatriates and how food nourished their frienships with others along the way.

This podcast is brought to you by Podcasts NZ and World Podcasts.

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Recipe of the Week: Christopher’s quick Tiramisu

• 15 small amaretti fingers
• 3 Tbs rum or masala
• 1 espresso cup coffee
• 1 egg, separated
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 cup marscapone
• cocoa powder

Break the finger biscuits into 1/3s and place in the bottom of small espresso cups or coffee glasses.  Mix the rum and coffee and splash in on top of the cookies.

Whisk the egg white to firm peaks.

Whisk the egg yolk and sugar until creamy.

Mix the marscapone with the egg yolk mixture.  Fold in the egg white,

Dollop spoonfuls ontop of the biscuit.

Cover and refridgerate for a couple of hours

Crumble more amaretti cookie on top and dust with cocoa powder.

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