When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...

Into making your own pizza at home? Here's some great footage of "Pizza-Making" with Melbourne's own Johnny di Francesco from 400 Gradi in Brunswick. He's got a few handy tips for us all! Click the image below to play video...

We all live such busy lives these days, juggling households, work, family, friends, kids activities, and more. In our family, it's really important that we make the time for some "down time". One of our favourite ways to do this to have regular pizza and movie nights with the kids. We have started our own family tradition of making pizzas together for our movie nights. It's lots of fun, the kids just love it and they taste sensational. They're made just how we like them (thin base) and we control the fat content & ingredients! There's nothing better than eating them straight from the pizza oven.        

Just arrived on our shelves direct from Italy are our new electric Express "Napoli" Pizza Ovens. They have been made with pure refractory stone cooking plates (same used for wood fired pizza ovens). They're equipped with a thermostat for temperature regulation, to cook pizzas to perfection in only 5 minutes! Household ovens just can't generate the same heat. There are heaps of other great features too. They look great on your kitchen bench, are easy to clean and can be used for cooking other meals too. They are included in this weeks "Weekly Special", so don't miss out.    

Now is the perfect time to preserving olives.

Here's a family recipe you may like to try:  

1. Pick the olives fresh from the trees if possible, but olives from the markets would be fine (or side of the road where they sell grapes for wine making season).  
2. Make a cut length way on each olive with a sharp knife (or our handy olive cutters).  
3. Place in a bucket with fresh water and then change the water each day for 7 days.  
4. Make a brine using 100gms of salt to each litre of water (the water level should just cover the olives).
5. Bring the brine to boiling point.  
6. Allow the brine to cool for 5 minutes.
7. Place the olives in steralised sealable jars.
8. Cover with the brine, seal and leave for 1 month.
9. Before using a jar of olives, wash off the brine, cover in olive old, add fresh garlic, fresh rosemary, and leave over night for the flavours to go through the olives.

(Fennel, fresh chill are also nice flavours.  Always keep the jars topped with olive oil to cover the olives).  Enjoy!   

We have just released some new dates for our Cider Making Workshops at our Reservoir Store on the 26th April, 2013 and our Clayton Store on the 27th April, 2013. Learn the basics and tricks of the trade to brew your own homemade Apple Cider. Places are limited. More Food and Beverage Workshops will be released soon. 

Our homebrewing range of supplies and equipment is growing! Just arrived on our shelves are our Grain Mills for cracking husks. We now have an massive range of grain varieties to choose from, and our Grain Mills are available in store to use as a complimentary service.  

If, like us, you are getting excited about the 2013 Melbourne Salami Festa, then don't miss next weeks Newsletter. We will be sharing all the latest news direct from the Melbourne Salami Board! Stay tuned!