Pumpkin & Spice – Bright, aromatic and cozy!

Cooking with SBA’s Kitchen

The next session is scheduled for:

Date: Tuesday 5 May 2026
Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Venue: Gormandale Community House
Cost: $60.00 per person (Cost includes recipes and all ingredients, plus a light lunch on the day.)
Bookings: please contact Gormandale Community House
03 5197 7264
gormandalech2@bigpond.com
Max Participants: 6

Sample Menu
Pumpkin Mutabal
Keralan Style Pumpkin, Bean & Coconut Curry Soup
Butternut Pumpkin and Bacon Tart
Lebanese inspired Lamb, Pumpkin & Rice
Roast Tomato and Pumpkin Salad with Spinach and Pinenuts and a Pesto Dressing
Pumpkin Streusel Cake – Gluten Free with Mascarpone Whipped Cream

(All food will be gluten free)

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Perfect dishes that bring warmth and colour to the table as the colder months close in.

Colourful, bright and packed full of flavour, the thought of pumpkin paired with spices, immediately conjures up images of cooler months and cozy nights.

In this session you will work together to create a warm, comforting feast, of pumpkin dishes from around the world, to share as we sit, relax and chat, as we finish the session.

A little more detail…

On the day:
※ Participants will be provided with advice, ingredients, instructions and guidance as they prepare the various s preserves and dishes on the day.
※ We will finish the session with a light meal prepared on the day, using some home canned goodies from my larder!
※ Questions are encouraged and welcome.
※ All food will be gluten free.

What you will take home:
※ Recipes for the dishes made on the day
※ Containers will be provided so that participants can take home any leftovers to share with family and/or friends.
※ Maybe a new friendship?

Session Duration:
The session will run for approximately 4 hours.

More Information:
I prefer not to call this a cooking class, but more of a hands-on cooking and knowledge sharing session, where those attending learn and share from my experience. I am not a trained chef, just taught and guided by my experiences, and driven by my love of cooking, sharing, and celebrating with food.

Health and Safety
※ If you have any dietary restrictions, please contact me prior to booking as I like to make sure that everyone can enjoy the food prepared on the day.
※ Closed shoes must be worn on the day.

Learn ||| Cook ||| Eat ||| Chat

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the form below.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange

May 23, 2022 / sbaskitchen / Leave a comment

This dish was created while we were taking a little break at nearby Loch Sport. The colours on the plate remind me of this stunningl sunset, captured beautifully on camera by Gary, on the evening that the recipe came to be.

Sunset over Lake Wellington (Photo taken by Gary Malyon)

With our favourite fish and what veg I had at hand, the recipe just evolved and was delicious! The chilli sauce used, was my own homemade version, one that my Gary says needs to come with a warning!

Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

A recipe created using one of our favourite fish and what was to hand...

Category: Fish, Main

Style: Australian

Keyword: Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Pumpkin, Fennel, Fish, Gluten Free, One Pan, Orange, Pumpkin, Tray Bake

Quantity: 4 serves

Author: sbaskitchen

Ingredients

FOR THE VEGETABLES

1/2 butternut pumpkin
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme leaves removed
1/4 tsp salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
1 medium fennel bulb very thinly sliced
12 Brussels sprouts trimmed and quartered
1 small orange sliced into 1/4 cm thick rounds

FOR THE FISH

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
4 (175g) Duck Fish fillets or other firm firm fish such as Snapper or Blue Eye Cod
4 sprigs thyme
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to season

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200˚C
Cut the solid end of the pumpkin into 1.2cm thick slices and peel. Retain the remaining pumpkin
Place the pumpkin into a shallow baking dish, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes
Meanwhile peel the remaining pumpkin and cut into 2 cm pieces.
Select a basin large enough to hold the vegetables and then add the garlic, orange zest, olive oil, thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp salt and a good grinding of black pepper, stirring well to combine. Add the pumpkin pieces, fennel and Brussel sprouts and toss well to coat.
Scatter the coated vegetables and the orange slices onto the baking tray with the partially cooked pumpkin, and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, until the pumpkin is just cooked and the Brussels sprouts are beginning to char.
Place the fish fillets into the bowl that the vegetables had been in and toss to coat with the residual oil and seasonings.
Combine the sweet chilli sauce, garlic and orange zest together in a small dish.
Once the pumpkin is just cooked through, remove the baking dish from the oven and arrange the fish in amongst the vegetables. Top each fillet of fish with some of the chilli sauce mixture and a sprig of thyme.
Return the baking tray to the oven and continue to cook until the fish is just cooked through, approximately 10 minutes.
To serve, arrange the pumpkin slices on individual serving plates and top with a fillet of the fish, a slice of orange and a sprig of thyme. Finally scatter around the pumpkin pieces, Brussels sprouts and fennel.

Notes

Duck Fish is also known as Boar Fish.

Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange

Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange

Until next time…

Bon appétit!

Links:

Baked Duck Fish with Pumpkin, Brussel Sprouts, Fennel and Orange

Gifts from a Neglected Garden

June 13, 2019June 22, 2019 / sbaskitchen / 1 Comment

The last twelve months have been nothing short of chaotic, resulting in so many things being neglected, one of which is our garden. The vegie patch was overrun with weeds and I felt that I wasn’t getting the produce that I should from it, given that I didn’t have time to care for the soil, plant out all the seeds and seedlings that I had planned to, etc.

I had planted some sweet potato slips in late spring/early summer and they took over, neglecting to climb the wire that I had set up in preference to rambling all over the footpaths and garden beds. I eventually got so frustrated with the mess that, about a month ago, I decided it was time to pull them out, telling myself that I would never to grow them again. I had planted one little row, about one meter, or a tad over 3 feet long. What a surprise when I started digging down. My neglected garden had provided us with a lovely basket full (almost 4 kilograms / 8 lbs) of beautiful tubers destined for our kitchen.

The tomatoes did not do as well as they should, but it appears that it was not the season for tomatoes for most that I spoke to (it was a very harsh summer), however we had enough for everyday use and for making the annual batch of tomato sauce, a much sought after family favourite. The pumpkin vines that I had growing up archways provided a few fruit and the beans were plentiful resulting in a well stocked freezer.

My first ever saffron crocus flower! One must be patient…

Gifts from a NEglected garden - Feature Image

My wonderful surprise from below – Sweet Potatoes…

My homegrown ginger…

I love these pumpkins…

Bunches of beautiful rhubarb from the garden…

Rosa lunga onion…

Celeriac, celery and parsley…

From one saffron crocus flower…

Rosa lunga onion

Continue reading →

A Stroll Through The Vegie Patch – The End of Summer

March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 / sbaskitchen / 5 Comments

Today I thought you might enjoy a stroll through our Vegie Patch. Lots of photos and very few words – A break from the kitchen…

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Aubergine / Egg Plant

The Aubergines / Egg Plants

Aubergine / Eggplant / Melanzano – Violetta di Firenze

Aubergine / Eggplant – The Flower

Aubergine / Egg Plant – Lebanese

Aubergine / Eggplant – The Flower

Aubergine / Egg Plant – Hand-Grafted Bonica

Beans

Bean – Climbing – Purple King

Bean – Borlotti – a failure

Bean – Dwarf – Gourmet Delight

Beets

Beetroot

Swiss Chard

Berries

Brassicas

Broccoli – Romanesco

Brassicas – looking a bit mottly

Corn

Courgette / Zucchini

Courgette – Zucchini – Gold Rush

Courgette – Zucchini – Ronde de Nice

Cucumbers & Cornichon

Flowers

Calendula for the bees and our salads

Nasturtiums

Green Stuff

Lettuce – Oak Leaf – running to seed

Red veined sorrel

Rocket

Sorrel

Herbs & Aromats

Chives

Coriander flowers – Seed Saving

French Tarragon

Garlic Chives

Horseradish

Lemon Grass

Lemon Verbena

Oregano

Parsley

Savoury

Spearmint

Thyme

Vietnamese Mint

Basil

Mint

Onions

Shallots

Spring Onions

Spring Onions & Clumping Red Spring Onions

Other Stuff

Asparagus – from Navarre – it was so hard not to pick it this yet

Celery

Florence Fennel

Peas

Peas – Telegraph – all finished

Snow Peas

Peppers

Capsicum – Long Sweet Yellow

Capsicum – Sweet Mama

Chilli Apache

Potatoes

Pumpkins

Pumpkin – a baby

Pumpkin – Turkish Turban

Pumpkin Flower

Pumpkin Vine – From the Compost

Rhubarb from Navarre

Rock Melon

Rock Melon – From the compost

Rock Melon – Noir des Carmes

Seed Saving

Coriander flowers – Seed saving

Parsley – Continental – Seed Saving

Swiss Chard – Seed Saving

The Bees

Coriander Flowers – for the bees

Cornichon flower being polinated by these wonderful little friend

Pumpkin – The bees at work – First there were two

Pumpkin – The bees at work – Then Three

Pumpkin – The bees at work – Then four – a bit of a party happening!

Savoury – The bees at work

Tomatoes

Tomato – Yellow Pear

Tomatoes – Andy’s – seeds from our late friend and neighbour – he was such a wonderful source of knowledge

Tomatoes – From the compost

Tomatoes – Green Tiger

Tomatoes – Rouge de Marmande

Tomatoes from the compost

My favourite pics…

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I hope that you have enjoyed joining me on a stroll through our vegie patch. It’s one of my favourite places to be. Can you believe that just three months ago, we did not have a vegie patch! I am looking forward to working and watching it through the seasons ahead.

Until next time…

Happy gardening and…

Bon appétit!