Pool food

by Kitty Owens
Dinner at the pool is the newest coolest social occasion in the Northern Suburbs for the summer of 09. This is the start of some recipe sharing for pool foodies - and an invitation to dine for those who haven’t tried it yet. Coburg Olympic Pool is open until 8pm on very hot summer nights and there’s a free BBQ on site. Picnic/takeaway/BBQ dinner at the pool is THE ANSWER for hot families from the Republics of Moreland and Darebin, who can be seen nibbling and chatting in the generous shade of the noble pool trees.

Pool food I have noticed on nearby picnic rugs and towels

• Thai takeaway – spring rolls, rice dishes etc. Overhead leisurely discussion of Thai restaurants in East Brunswick – all good.
• BBQ snags and skewers, all kinds of salad, rolls – this is a popular choice
• Cold soy chicken wings with pasta salad – very organised 
• Quiche from a fancy bakery
• Leftover Indian curry
• Tinned baked beans with sausage rolls from the kiosk
• Home made caramelised onion frittata 
• Home made icy poles in an esky!

Pool food possibilities
Take away options nearby include

• Fish and chips or pizza from the shops further along Murray road - on the corner of Elizabeth Street.
• The best choice of kebabs in Australia – surely - from Coburg shops (Kebab Station for best bread, Half Moon Café for best dips).
• Good Vietnamese from the pho shop near Preston Market (on High street) – Rice Paper rolls anyone?
• Lovely modern Indian food from Café Sarabella in Coburg mall – buy it in the day when shopping and shove it in the fridge to take to the pool for dinner.
• Veg to Go in East Brunswick has great vegetarian take away
• Zaatar pizzas and cold salt yoghurt drinks from Al Alami on Waterfield St, Coburg

BBQ suggestions

• Coburg Meat supply in Coburg mall does prize winning snags, and have organic, free range and halal options too.
• Coburg market – for mushrooms, capsicums, eggplant, zuchinni to BBQ – and haloumi from Elli’s deli
• Preston market has it all including a great range of fish
• Tasty Rooster in Waterfield Coburg - barn raised not cage raised chicken – they really are tasty - and you can get cold ones from the day before.

Here’s Something I Prepared Earlier (more ideas for dinners to bring from home)

• Gazpacho – mm lots of fresh tomatoes whizzed up with stale bread and olive oil and a little good vinegar. Icy cold in a thermos,Tortillas warmed on the BBQ with lots of fresh salsa (tomato, onion, fresh coriander, chilli, lime juice - mango optional – not traditional but good if you like mango).
• Iced water with lemon slices in a glass bottle
• Smoked trout with bread and salad
• Tropical fruit skewers – with marshmallows optional for kitsch kid spoiling

Dream Pool Café menu – to be continued
The pool has a kiosk selling classic retro pool fare – icecreams, chips and sausage rolls, but many people muse wouldn’t it be great to have a café …apparently Prahan pool has a nice cafe. Suggested items the café could sell

• Coffee frappes like they sell in Greece (instant coffee, evaporated milk and heaps of shaved ice) – this suggestion from the glamorous Greek women on the bench the other night
• Decent coffee! ‘Isn’t it too hot’? I said ‘NO’ said Gina ‘I had to ring a friend who was on their way to the pool to get them to bring me a take-away coffee’.
• Frozen bananas coated in chocolate and coconut – they sold these at Ceres for a while
• Fruit smoothies
• Those yummy Turkish salty yoghurt drinks (addictive)

PLEASE SEND IN YOUR IDEAS AND RECIPES – and pictures of pool food would be good too.