Paddock to Plate

Chocolate and Oranges…

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It was during the winter of last year that I discovered a new farm shop was to open not far from here –  I was so excited because they would be selling citrus, and we didn’t have anything like it in the area.  I still remember my first visit to the King Fisher Citrus Farm Shop at Nambrok, and the enormous bag of oranges that I purchased – fresh orange juice for breakfast?  Over time I got to know Aimee and Lynton, hearing about their journey, sharing family memories, and also sharing my thoughts as to what I would create with their beautiful produce.

Pink Oranges

While I continually purchase produce for our small catering business (I just love starring their oranges in our soups, crumble tarts, friands, etc.), I am always excited to purchase something new to bring home and play with in the kitchen, creating new dishes for Gary and I to enjoy.

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Warm Salad of Sumac Marinated Lamb Backstrap with Chats & Green Beans

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This is a firm favourite in our home, and perfect for this time of year.  In fact if you head to one of our local farmers’ markets, I am sure that you’ll be able to pick up most of the fresh ingredients, including the lamb, directly from the people who grow them.  You know me, I love to support local, to have a chat to the people who grow the food that we eat, and then to bring the produce home, cook it and eat it.

I discovered this recipe in one of my French cooking magazines, Cuisine Actuelle, some time ago, and then promptly forgot about it.   Flicking through my lamb scrap book recently, I was delighted to rediscover the recipe.

Here, beautiful lean lamb backstrap (from Forge Creek Lamb) is coated in a simple blend of olive oil, sumac and crushed garlic (fresh from our garden) and then set aside to marinate for a couple of hours before being cooked in a hot pan.  Once rested, the lamb is sliced to reveal the succulent, rose coloured centre, ready to become the star of the show in this delicious salad.

As usual, I just can’t help myself, and have adjusted the recipe to suit our tastes, including the addition of olives and capers.  I also swap the cherry tomatoes out for slow roasted Roma tomatoes if I feel like it.

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My Morning Commute…

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I love my morning commute – I cannot believe how lucky that I am to be driving the country roads, as I head out early in the morning to collect the produce required for our weekly cook.  The only problem is that nature often stops me in my tracks, quite literally!  I tend to drive the back roads, and have now taken to carrying my camera with me to try and capture natures beauty.

The morning light, the morning fog, the morning frost, the morning rainbow…  My Morning Commute #12

Today I almost stopped to take a photo of a puddle, but decided to keep going.  Wish I had stopped to take a photo of the puddle.

I often find myself smiling as I drive, thinking of the lifestyle change we have made.  Who would have thought that this ex-(city) secretary, is now cooking food for a local cafe, providing catering for meetings and even supplying a local farm gate with product.

This is where I live, and this is my morning commute, no traffic lights, almost no traffic, though occasionally stopping to allow the cows to cross the road, and of course, often stopping to take in nature’s beauty..

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Caricature

Eating our way into 2018

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While 2017 had it’s dreadful lows, as we moved through the year, things seemed to improve and get better and better. In fact, by the end of the year, we were looking forward, with great excitement, to 2018.

Gary and I deliberately chose to stay at home on our own for New Year’s Eve this year, and with that in mind, I decided to plan a special meal. Using only what I had in the garden and the fridge, freezer and larder, the menu was set, and preparation began the day before. Meat was taken from the freezer, jellies were made and set, and a terrine prepared. The star of the show was to be a beautiful piece of venison that we had purchased, from the farm gate, while in Bright earlier in the year. It was a knuckle, so had to be cooked long and slow… This meant messaging a great friend, Fabien, in Paris, as he had prepared a shoulder of venison in a similar manner during one of our visits to his mother’s (my very dear friend, Véronique’s) home a few years ago. While the method for the cooking of the venison was quite simple, it would need seven hours in the oven! This gave me the idea of eating our way into 2018.

During the afternoon, leading to New Year’s Eve, I wandered around the garden picking a small basket of flowers. Carefully arranged in a bowl with a large candle in the centre, they became the centrepiece of a small table set with crystal stem-ware and serviettes.

And then another trip to the garden, this time the vegie patch, and I had the edible flowers to adorn the plates…

Edible Flowers from our vegetable garden

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Smoked Trout

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Some months ago, we took our first drive from our new home, across the mountains, to beautiful Bright – what a treat. The drive is an easy five to six hours, and the scenery is simply sensational! As we climbed the winding roads, the scenery continued to change. There were eagles soaring, incredible panoramas and great anticipation for a fun few days ahead. It was autumn and Bright in autumn is always a stunning canvas of autumnal colour. Continue reading →