Shetland, Scotland:

While we all know those cute little Shetland ponies, few people think of Shetland as part of Britain. And that is exactly what the locals want, for these hardy independent northerners see themselves as more Scandinavian than Scottish and relish their ties with Norway. You can understand why Shetland, 340 kilometres north of  Aberdeen and 360 kilometres west of Bergen, might feel isolated from Britain.

Settled originally by Norse and Vikings, Shetland was not ruled by Scotland until the mid 15th century. Even today the austere prefabricated housing comes from Norway - breeze blocks covered with pebble-dash, a board that resembles coarse sandpaper - and the lilting accents lean steadily eastward. Even town and street names are Nordic, inlets are voes rather than firths, children's heroes are called Harald and Hakon, and names beginning with 'Mac' rarely appear in the phonebook.

Shetland - always singular, never The Shetland Islands - has a wild beauty that few can resist and many visitors find themselves drawn back year after year.

Lerwick, Shetland's capital, is a steep and straggly town, anchored by its harbour to the sea. Boats from a dozen nations nudged the quay.

If you are a tree-lover, Shetland may not be the place for you. While the Gulf-Stream tempered climate is not as bleak as you might expect, the January gales can lift a young tree from the ground, and so the landscape is plucked bare of anything much larger than a shrub. Strangely, the result is not ugly.  Read more....

Sabah, Malaysia:

Be honest. If you were unexpectedly asked to say where Sabah is, would you know? Most of us might hazard a guess that it is in south-east Asia. Some might know it is a state of Malaysia, and even fewer might come up with the correct answer: that it is one of the two Malaysian states now referred to by the locals as East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo.

Much of Sabah simmers in tropical heat. The coastline, mostly mangrove and palm protected, is home to proboscis monkeys and wild bright birds and butterflies. At Sepilok near Sandakan an orang utan sanctuary ia dedicated to rehabilitating orphaned apes so that they can finally live safely in the lush rainforest jungles there. Presently they are being part-fed (the management wants them to learn to forage independently) and 'mothered' into learning how to jump and swing through the tall trees.

Once this wild and jungly land was home to head-hunters, its shores threatened by pirates, the mountains and deep valleys war zones. Today's Sabah is different, a quiet and immensely beautiful place. Read more....

Sydney's Living History:

Sydney's Living History, iPhone and iPad app, $4.49, by Sally Hammond, 130 entries, 900 images. To access it, DOWNLOAD the free Sutro World app from www.sutromedia.com/world (or find Sutro World on iTunes App store). THEN sort by name: Sydney's Living History - AND click the price in the upper right corner to watch it download!

Take it everywhere you go in Sydney and prepare to be amazed! Use the maps to find what is near you. Sort by categories. Find transport links to make getting there easier. And baffle your friends with the Fun Fact at the end of each entry (hint - great to drop into a conversation or put on a postcard or email along with your own pic!). Read more about Sydney's Living History...

Sourdough:

Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. Most breads are commercially raised using baker's yeast.

However there has been a recent revival of the sourdough method using starter which produces a distinctively tangy or sour taste, mainly because of the lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli.

The "starter" or levain, is in essence an ancestral form of pre-ferment used for centuries in many European countries. It may be made either with a small amount of existing dough, preferably saved from a prior batch, or with a batter-like starter which is fed regularly and may be weeks or even years old.  

Perhaps the world's most famous baker was Lionel Poiléne who began making his trademark bread in 1932, using a Parisian bakery begun in 1789, the first year of the French Revolution. There is now another bakery in Paris and one in London, but those loaves still retain their homespun appearance along with the dense sourdough crumb and chewy crust so beloved by their fans. Fifteen thousand loaves are shovelled out of the 100-ton wood-fired brick ovens daily, yet the brochure I pick up from the counter declares proudly that this is 'still an artisan bakery'. The simple shelves in the Left Bank shopfront hold round loaves with Poiléne's initial, a P slashed with a floury flourish into each crust.

Seeds:

Sesame Seeds

Poppyseeds worn in your shoes allows you to walk among your creditors unseen. At least that was once a belief. These tiny black seeds are gathered from the same plant that provides opium and depending on the treatment they receive in packaging, may still contain some narcotic effects when you sprinkle them on your bread rolls. Fibre and calcium are the main contributions to diet and while many eastern European and Jewish recipes feature poppyseed cakes and fillings for pastries, here we mostly use them to accent bread crusts.

Pumpkin seeds, almost 50% fat, are sometimes called pepitas and are a tasty way to get your vitamin C, zinc and iron. Pale green pepitas, from Mexico, are generally sold in health food shops and add a pretty accent to salads and savoury dishes as well as biscuit slices. They may be toasted before use. Save the seeds from pumpkin being prepared for a meal, and cook them in a little salted water for about 20 minutes. Drain them and use them when cool or bake them on a tray in a moderate oven for a further 20 minutes or until crisp. The nutty kernels can be extracted from the husk if it is too chewy.

Sesame seeds, native of Indonesia, have been around for 4000 years. Remains of some have been found in the Tigris valley, and Cleopatra possibly used their oil for her skin. Indians believe that they were blessed by the Hindu god Yamam and are a symbol of immortality. They are said to open locks and reveal secret places, probably because as the seed ripens it bursts, scattering seeds everywhere. Sesame seeds are over 50% fat and may be ground into a paste called tahini. This makes an interesting spread or can be used as a substitute for butter or oil in some dishes. For baking, its flavour is often too dominant to substitute entirely for other fats. The seeds can be used in vegetarian patties and roasts, cakes and breads to add flavour and texture. Unhulled sesame seeds contain calcium but even hulled they supply vitamin E, potassium and zinc.

Sunflowers were a mystic symbol to the Incas who worshipped the sun but the seeds are valuable too, supplying zinc, calcium, vitamin C and of course fibre. The striped black husk needs to be removed for human consumption and the grey seeds are a flavoursome addition to salads, vegetarian dishes, breads and cakes. The nut can be toasted before use or ground, but at almost 50% fat, care should be taken by those on reduced fat diets.

Nigella seeds, also known as black cumin, onion seed or just nigella, are used as a spice in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. The dry-roasted nigella seeds flavor curries, vegetables and pulses.

Chia seeds, traditionally consumed in Mexico are rich in omega-3 fatty acids

All seeds contain oil so they can become rancid if left in warm conditions.

Spinach or silverbeet:

Spinach , that old ally of Popeye, was actually a bit of a fake. Early nutritionists, not as good at their sums as now, put the decimal point in the wrong place and falsely thought spinach had ten times the iron content!

People even once believed that spinach juice would cure scorpion bites. Although silverbeet, known by its wide crinkled green leaves may be called spinach, English spinach looks different with smaller, flat leaves.

Both vegetables provide good amounts of vitamins A and C and iron, the hallmark of all dark green leafy vegetables, and   spinach also serves up plenty of vitamin E and folate. Unfortunately silverbeet is high in sodium, the level depending on where it is grown, and this may put it on the black-list for those on sodium-restricted diets. The option here is to substitute spinach which has no sodium.

Both types are best used as soon as possible after harvesting. Refrigerate the leaves until needed then cook them very briefly to retain the bright colour, flavour, and nutrients, and serve immediately. For those who find the flavour of silverbeet too strong, try shredding equal quantities of silverbeet and dark outer leaves of lettuce and tossing them with a tablespoon of water and plenty of chopped parsley just until steamed and tender. Read more...