Soups

The Final Order

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It has been almost seven years since Melissa met me with the words “you can hire a hall kitchen!”.  She had previously asked if I would cook for her beautiful café The Pickle Pot, but I had told her, that as I didn’t have a commercial kitchen, I was unable to.  She then went on to explain how others were hiring commercially registered hall kitchens to prepare food for their small catering/food businesses.  So off I went, I did my research, talked to people, did some study, applied for, and received council registration, and we were off – SBA’s Kitchen gluten free catering was in business – who would have thought…

The Pickle Pot in Maffra
SBA’s Kitchen

Since then we applied for, and were successful in having our home kitchen registered for commercial food preparation, which I am sure lengthened the life of the business.  We were able to continue to work during COVID (all halls were closed during the pandemic), and it provided us with more flexible working hours, and all through this time, while we have had other clients come and go, The Pickle Pot, has remained our main client.

As we all know, nothing is forever!  Sadly the beautiful café is closing its doors.  Fortuitously, the timing was perfect for me, for us, and today we made our final delivery of homemade gluten free food, prepared and baked from our kitchen at Tranquility.

The Final Order

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In denial!

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Lockdown number 5, winter, dull days and cold weather…

The COVID lockdown I can deal with.  Its supposed to be a short one, just five days, we will see…

Winter and cold weather are another thing!  I cannot cope with the cold weather, the shorter daylight hours, dull days, oh, and did I mention the cold…  I know we are now on the right side of the solstice and the days are getting longer, but last night I was in denial… I needed warm weather and warm weather food that would suit a cold winter’s night.

So with dodgy tomatoes on hand, some sad looking basil that needed to be used up, I decided to try and make a flavourful tomato soup.  I started with a recipe, but that soon went out of the window!  Winter tomatoes are nothing short of sad and flavourless – nevertheless they needed to be used, and I needed  a touch of summer.  So with garlic, red onions, dodgy winter tomatoes, sad basil, and some tomato paste, I set to work. Continue reading →

Cook or Cure!

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After an amazing Christmas break with our family, we returned home feeling relaxed, refreshed and looking forward to an additional mini break at home.

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Unfortunately that feeling vanished very soon!  Gary discovered that I hadn’t closed the freezer door properly prior to our departure and everything had begun to defrost!

First job, stock take, make a list of everything that could be salvaged, dispose of what couldn’t, and then work out what to do with a freezer full of meat, seafood and poultry!

Idea’s began to form as I worked through it all, most would have to be cooked and then could be re-frozen.  I realised that I could also, smoke and cure a little as well.

I had duck marylands, I would do Confit Duck and then freeze ready for use.  There was one duck breast, it would be cured, airdried and then sliced/diced and frozen.

Here, I have carefully packaged each piece and labeled it ready for freezing.
Confit duck served with a salad of rocket, orange and walnuts, and chips.
Air Cured Duck Breat
Air Cured Duck Breat

 

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The Frozen Garden!

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We have recently endured a spate of heavy frosts, and for us it was very cold – minus 7.6 celsius etc. The first morning I got up and wandered down to the vegie patch, before heading into the garden for the community in Stratford. As I worked in the garden there I was kicking myself for not having got up earlier and taken photos of the beauty that a frost creates. I know that it also causes devastation, but all I saw was beauty. Continue reading →

Another Garden!

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While I have been a little quiet of late, I haven’t been idle! Earlier this year I started to do some voluntary work at a local community hub in nearby Stratford. This little hub called Segue, combines a café, gallery and shop where you can purchase handcrafted goods produced by local artists. There is also a bookroom and a sustainable living room as well. Continue reading →