Recipes

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 →

Rosehips from the garden

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As I walked passed the glowing orange rose hips on the exquisite climbing rose, Mme Gregoire Staechlin, I knew that it was time to make Rosehip Jelly, a must for when I’m putting together both cheese and charcuterie boards.  But yet again, I could not find the recipe that I normally use, and could not remember which book it was in, so made it from memory…

Mme Gregoire Staechlin
Rosehips from the garden…
Mme Gregoire Staechlin

The day before yesterday I did a quick search on my computer (why didn’t I do that earlier?) and there it was, all written up nicely, including details of the source!  The recipe that I had been looking for is from the beautiful book, salt sugar smoke by Diana Henry.

Rosehip Jelly

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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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Olivia & Christopher’s Dream – Setting the Scene

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Recently we enjoyed one of the most amazing weekends ever!

Our son, Christopher, married the love of his life, Olivia, at the beautiful Wandin Park Estate on the outskirts of Melbourne.

While everyone held their breath, hoping that there wouldn’t be another COVID outbreak resulting in yet another lock-down here in Victoria, as each day passed, we knew that finally their special day was to be.

Olivia and Christopher had planned and organised everything for their wedding.  Much time was spent working on all the details as well as creating and making the decorations, creating those special touches that would make this day uniquely their day.  Olivia dried rose petals to be used as confetti and made the cones for guests to help themselves. She made the most beautiful dream catchers to be hung throughout the venue, and the little string ball lights to be placed on the tables and barrels.  Christopher worked on ensuring that everything would go to plan, with timelines, spreadsheets, and a little surprise for Olivia (but that’s for the final post in this series…)

Catching dreams
Rose petal confetti
Rose petal confetti
Catching dreams
Balls of light

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Thick, creamy, delicious Tzatziki

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Some years ago, my sister, Jan, loaned me a book to read – she thought that I might enjoy it.  The memoir of man who moved to Greece to write a novel, and stayed for 20 plus years.  I enjoyed the book so much that I bought it, and am always bringing it off the shelf, particularly for Tom’s recipe for Tzatziki!

The book, The Summer of my Greek Tavérna, a memoir by Tom Stone, published in 2002 is a wonderful read and has a selection of recipes at the end.  Jan had tried the Tzatziki recipe and told me how great it was – she was right, it is amazing, and always so popular when it’s served as a dip, or an accompaniment with a platter of kofta.  It’s deliciously thick, creamy and has a little bite from the garlic and white pepper!

 

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I’ve adapted the recipe a little over time, but is still very similar to the one published.

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