Not long after we returned from our lengthy visit to France, I was asked to consider locating a commercial kitchen in order to cook for a local business. We thought about it, discussed the idea, and the search began. We needed a public hall with a commercial kitchen available for hire on a daily basis. It took a little while, but finally we located one just 20 minutes from our home. The next stage in the process was training. I enrolled in an appropriate course and this was done on line. Then there were council applications to be submitted and meetings/inspections held, along with a plethora of other issues to deal with, and then of course the testing of recipes and menu planning …

This week we finished our fifth cook. It has been a crazy and hectic journey, but we are now becoming far more efficient and time savvy. We are very proudly using locally produced ingredients and it is around these ingredients that our recipes are created. At this point, the beef, eggs, cheese, olive oil, and the majority of our veg are produced very close to home – within a 25 kilometer radius, and our milk is also local, but from a little further away. How lucky are we to be able to source such beautiful ingredients so very close to home.

For me, our packaging needed to be environmentally friendly, and with some advice we ended up with a beautiful product, in fact the bases are fully home compostable and the lids can be placed in your recycle bin. On top of this, I think it looks amazing.

So what are we cooking… We are preparing pre-packaged meals in single and family size, such as

Lamb Kofta in a Rich Vegetable Sauce with Handmade Gnocchi,

Italian Style Meatballs with a side of Handmade Gnocchi in Three Maffra Cheese Sauce, or for the less adventurous, we also do the meatballs with a side of veg, and then there’s Handmade Gnocchi with Chard and Olives in a Creamy Tomato Sauce, finished with a sprinkling of Pine Nuts. Other menu items such as

salads, meatballs and Chilli Con Carne are available in single serve, family serve and large batch size. All food is gluten free and there are vegetarian, vegan and other specialty options available.

During this time a lot of things have been neglected, including my blog – I look forward to getting back in touch with everyone and telling stories about my food, my garden and other activities, and of course sharing new recipes. Naturally we have had to eat during this time of madness, and as such, had to fall back on old favourites such as Braised Chicken with White Wine and Tomatoes, Chicken & Rhubarb Curry, Roasted Honey, Soy & Lime Rack of Lamb. In fact my mum’s chocolate sponge (AKA Nana’s Chocolate Cream Cake) recipe also made an appearance!

With the weather on the change, the days getting longer, and with definite signs of spring, it is always a joy to head out to the vegie patch to enjoy some fresh air, work with the soil and plan what is to be planted out next.

Enjoying breakfast in the sunshine

Just in case you are wondering, our small fledgling business goes by the same name as this blog “SBA’s Kitchen”!  Our team is very small – just myself, ably assisted by my amazing and very supportive husband, Gary, and our food is available from

The Pickle Pot here in Maffra

& Myrtlebank Roaming Farms Farmgate Stall.

Until next time…

Bon appétit! & happy gardening.

 

Links:

• Braised Chicken with White Wine and Tomatoes
• Chicken & Rhubarb Curry
• Roasted Honey, Soy & Lime Rack of Lamb
• Chocolate Sponge
• The Pickle Pot
• Myrtlebank Roaming Farms