September 4th, 2010 §
There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t appreciate living in such a beautiful part of the world… but part of me is desperate to own land and have a huge vegetable patch and grown my own food. At the end of Autumn I tried to enjoy a little of both by ripping up a garden bed and drawing up a vegie patch plan. It looked so good on paper I proudly blu-tacked it to the wall!
the first pea
A perfect little baby and all ours...maybe left a little too long on the stalk
A small but satisfying 'harvest'
Teeny weeny but packed with flavour
I was hoping by now to be showing off lots of home grown produce… but between that awesome amount of rain we had at the beginning of winter and 40kg dog who likes to sit in the patch (because it has a good view into the kitchen) our first real attempt at a garden is probably best rated as a failure! Although we have had a limited supply of chives, oregano and parsley throughout winter and some tiny little carrots that have been teased to the surface by impaitent fingers…
A few weeks ago I heard shrieks of delight from my avid 9 year old gardener as she discovered our first snow pea had grown despite the odds! No rain, dog or possum deterred this little wonder and by the end of the week we had a modest handful of perfect peas! This week we pulled up the carrots…
There was really no point cooking our tiny vegetables so we sat and enjoyed them raw – and they were unbelieveable! Sooo sweet and crisp and it was strangely satisfying not to wash them before we ate them, knowing they were completely spray free!
I had planned to cook this dish with my beans and peas – a dish that would really let them shine but alas, they wont be home grown this year. Maybe next….Wait for a lovely warm spring day and serve this recipe with your favourite Spring Lamb or fish dish.
Super Simple Warm Fresh Pea Salad with Goats Cheese and Lemon and Herbs.
- 3 cups of fresh peas, snow peas, sugar snaps [whatever is best and freshest]
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of one lemon
- handful of fresh herbs [basil, chive, mint, oregano - again whatever is best and freshest]
- 200g grams Meredith Chevre
Fill your largest pot with water and salt it generously. Bring to the boil. Fill another big bowl of cold water and set aside. In another bowl put the lemon zest, lemon juice and a generous glug of your best olive oil – enough to coat the quantity of beans. Set aside.
Plunge the beans/peas into the water and cook only for 3-4 minutes till they are a vibrant green colour. Plunge into the cold water to stop them cooking. Then tip them into the olive oil and lemon juice bowl. Toss to combine. Throw in the herbs, toss to combine and tip onto a platter. Crumble over the goats cheese and drizzle over any remaining lemon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
PS….I haven’t given upon growing my own vegetables and the summer garden will soon be planned and plotted with trip back out to Castle Hill Markets for the best seedlings I have seen. And with help of Lolo Houbein’s fabulous book “One Magic Square” hopefully we will have more success….read this interview with the inspiring Lolo here by Patrice at the Womans Nook.
August 29th, 2010 §
The weekend before last we packed the car with the kids and Nanna and headed out on a family excursion along the Hawkesbury Farm Gate Trail. We started from the Castle Hill Markets – a real growers market. Here we mingled with locals and out-of-towners and bought some amazing organic fruit and vege along with loads of great produce. We tasted interesting foods like smoked crocodile and finger lime curd before heading out on the farm gate trail – first stop at M&A Meats for some rib eye… then we picked vegetables and enjoyed a stunningly simple and satisfying lunch at The Hawkesbury Vegetable Farm run by the Sultana Family. It was such a simple pleasure to harvest fresh vegetables and pay the farmer direct…we went in search of oranges to pick but the farm was closed so we finished up on the verandah at Enniskillen Orchard overlooking the pretty Grose Valley enjoying tea with scones and jam.
It was a long day and this is a long post… it was a snappers delight and snap I did! At the bottom of this post I there is a link where you can find out all about the Farmgate Trail….We will be heading back in Spring for all the new produce and definitely in Summer for the fruit!
It was so good to eat such fresh vegatables and meat all week…
Crossing the Hawksbury River - Richmond Bridge
farm fresh flowers
I saw mushrooms I'd only ever read about...
along with old favourites
Freshly cooked Poffertjes for breakfast
the best selection of herbs and seedlings I've ever seen at a market... going back for my summer garden
This sign tells you that you are buying directly from the grower
Preserved lemons from The Farmers Wife
Fresh produce everywhere
Wouldn't be a market without a sausage sizzle!
Citrus a'plenty!
Doesn't get much fresher!
Took a bag of these carrots home - all weird and wonderful
lovely colours, flavours and shapes
more amazing citrus
Beautiful enough to be a wedding bouquet!
A mountain of dutch carrots
Miss 9 chose this enormous apple... it was the best i have ever eaten!
but there were plenty to choose from
and lots of cheeses
Then back on the road to follow the farm gate trail... odd sight seeing farms along side 'plastic' housing developments and highways
First stop... Wilberforce to see a classic butcher shop attached to their abattoir - M&A Butchery. Bought some great rib eyes, rather roughly butchered but great flavour and incredibly cheap!
then off to family run Hawkesbury Vegetable farm to pick vegetables
rows and rows and rows to choose from
The middle daughter (1 of 6 kids) on the Sultana family farm shows us around making pointing out the best produce and picking it for us
It was a bit early for the broad beans...
but we did find this perfect early bird
Ice berg lettuces hiding in the weeds... they leave the weeds over winter to keep the lettuces snug and safe from the harsh Hawkesbury frost ...but come summer they will all be stripped out
this was the best savoy cabbage I have ever tasted...and certainly the freshest. We shredded it for salads with parmesan and balsamic; we chopped and braised it with garlic... yum yummo
Beautiful leeks that were later baked under a roast lamb
... growing beneath big blue skies
this is as direct from the farmer as you can get!
Then its off to the shed so farmer Joseph Sultana can add up our purchases... $15 for an enormous box including leeks, celery, silver beet, savoy cabbage, iceberg lettuce...!
a farmer's hands
Joseph's younger daughter takes our vegetables to the car. All of the kids seem to have a job on the farm, clearly this was her role because she wasn't going to let us carry it oursleves!
now it was time to head off to the Sultana family's little cafe for lunch.
Here we found the youngest daughter peeling their potatoes and the oldest daughter slicing them up for real chips...
whilst making garden fresh salad rolls
but we couldnt resist the home made pies... vegetable of course!
and they were amazing...
as were the real chips...
With our bellies fully satisfied we headed off to pick some oranges...
the trees where loaded with citrus but the farm was closed... only for public to pick their own oranges every day except for Saturday! Very disappointed...oh well
I couldn't resist this old farm truck... i love them regardless of cliche!
and I love the old farm houses...
We passed a lovely orchard of blossoming nectarine trees... so so pretty and a lovely sign of things to come this summer... before having scones for afternoon tea
All the details about the Hawkesbury Farmgate Trail are here: www.hawkesburyharvest.com.au ….. Don’t forget to take a insulated cold bag and ice packs to get any special purchases home safe!
August 18th, 2010 §
all in the pot!
Making your own stock at home is not only good for your cooking, it is good for your budget, good for the environment and good for the worm farm! Whenever cooking throw your biggest pot on the stove and toss in all of your vegetable scraps – onion skins, celery tops/leaves, leek tops, carrot tops, garlic skins or roughly chopped older garlic, herbs etc along with whole peppercorns and fresh bay leaves [get a tree if you don't have one because they are pretty and practical]. Bring it to the boil and then simmer for a few hours. I will also add fresh chicken bones if I have them or even left over roast chicken bones, lamb bones etc for a meatier stock. You will know it is ready when it tastes good! Freeze or leave in the fridge for no longer than a week – use it for the base of soups, braises, risottos, poaching, sauces etc. If you have a compost or worm farm the soft, quick to break down vegetables will be appreciated greatly. No waste. Very Satisfying indeed!
July 29th, 2010 §
Food writer, recipe developer and our favourite cooking school teacher Sam Wight, was heading out to meet 3rd generation dairy farmer, Michael Perich for an article she was commissioned to do for Rex Airlines inflight magazine - OUTthere. The Perich family dairy is the biggest in Australia – definitely a good photo opportunity and chance to have a sticky beak. So I tagged along to do the photos and let Sam concentrate on the interview. Of course I love any excuse for a road trip and the to catch up with a good friend!
We met lovely dairy farmer Michael at his huge farm on which 2000 cows are milked 3 times a day. The 3 generations (Grandparents, sons and daughters and their families) all live on the farm. I hope the fourth generation continues the great work! Here is a little photo essay of what we saw… plus a quick recipe for our favourite thing to do with winter milk at our house: Lindt hot chocolates! Find out more about the dairy on their website…you can even organise a tour….
Young cows have run of the paddocks for 2 years
Even young cows can do fancy tricks with their ears...
Dinner time..... hundreds and hundreds of mouths to feed
They were very happy to have their photos taken... not shy at all!
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July 29th, 2010 §
One of the best things about owning the Cooks Larder (apart from access to amazing food everyday) is meeting lots of people. Last weekend by chance I met a very clever woman indeed… she and her brother carve beautiful crochet hooks from sticks… so simple, so lovely, I just had to ask to borrow them so I could photograph them. People who know me well know that when not cooking I love a bit of craft …. so I dug out my kitchen twine from the messy third draw (usually reserved for stringing up the Christmas turkey) and crocheted a classic granny square… very appealing even if totally useless!
June 19th, 2010 §
Lately we have been looking for any excuse to drive across town to go to Iggy’s to get bread…. Avalon to Bronte is quite a trip for bread, even for amazing bread. Especially since I am always on about reducing food miles by eating as local as possible… But a few weeks back we had the perfect excuse to be in Bronte because amid the endless rain there was a pause. So we headed over the bridge armed with our excuse - exercise! You see I have never experienced the Bronte to Bondi walk and this was the perfect day to see this beautiful wild coastline – dark and stormy but when the clouds lifted there were brilliant summer-like blue skies. Everyone was out – some bolting out for a run; dog owners taking a stroll; desperate sun lovers lying on the beach (in their bikini’s – come on it is June) and happy couples gazing out to sea… while we walked off the bread. Luckily I took my camera to snap away. Here are some of the things we saw – sorry, a whole post without any food pics! » Read the rest of this entry «
June 11th, 2010 §
cavolo nero
Every season I seem to develop a love for a particular food and find myself looking for ways to eat it as often as possible. This season it is definitely cavolo nero… the fabulous Tuscan cabbage. I’d love to say that I have just picked these bunches from my garden but alas, between the excessive rain here in Sydney and a large dog who likes to trample the garden, my tiny seedlings are struggling to stay alive… I don’t think they will ever look like this…. never mind. Here are a couple of simple ways I have been enjoying cavolo nero and feel so so nourished and healthier as a result!
- Shred finely and saute with garlic to serve with fish, beef, pork sausages.
- Cut finely and stir into soups for instant colour and flavour
- Served sauted with roasted almonds, garlic, lemon zest for a healthy lunch
- Sauted with pancetta, garlic and tomatoes with loads of freshly grated parmesan for a simple dinner
- Witled with poached eggs – great start to the day…
- This is a fabulous recipe from Heidi Swanson that I shared on my birthday today with some lovely friends and a bottle of Veuve….(although I drastically upped the garlic and olive oil and accidently forgot the walnuts. I also substituted corona beans for large lima beans and cavolo nero for the kale).
May 15th, 2010 §
Having just arrived back from Bali I was hoping to share with you some amazing food experiences… With our own fabulous cooks at hand we ate [and ate, and ate... and ATE] thanks to the lovely Wasi but we kind of just relaxed and it was hard to even get out the camera… but despite all of the amazing food the stand out was these incredible mint drinks…we managed to find out the ingredients… » Read the rest of this entry «
April 16th, 2010 §
Too much mix
.... Just right!
In the Show Time post I promised to get back to you about the cupcake, or patty cake, recipe I was going to try from The Country Show Cook Book. As mentioned finding a good old patty cake recipe had been proving difficult – many tried were too rich, others too dry, others too sweet. Well I am happy to report that the reason this recipe by Yvonne Maslin has won so many awards over the last 28 years was clear – they were perfect and totally simple!
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April 14th, 2010 §
Easter is almost gone. This year I realised we really don’t have an Easter food tradition [barring chocolate of course] and for a family that loves food like mine, this is an issue that needs to be rectified! Given I have one whole year to pull something together there is clearly plenty of time and I should possibly focus on something practical like the laundry or something. Hmm … I don’t think so! Actually I already have a contender for the winning recipe from the very lovely Patrice at Womans Nook. She has just published on her website a beautiful looking recipe for an Easter Sunday Bread… much more sophisticated than a Hot Cross Bun. Patrice advises not to wait till Easter to make it so I’m going to give it a go soon… It’s certainly a little more work than my average lunch box loaf but I can imagine the lovely yeasty sweet fresh bread aromas that will fill my kitchen…and bring them all running! » Read the rest of this entry «
April 10th, 2010 §
It wouldn't be the show without a snow cone!
Going to the Easter Show use to be the last thing I ever wanted to do… the crowds, the noise, the long day, the bad food etc etc… Last year though, I decided to venture out there again and … I had a great time! We set some fairly harsh family rules: no rides, no showbags, no rubbish plastic landfill items and then try to make it all about the produce, the fabulous animals and the crafts. We talk to as many farmers as we can and ask them all sorts of city-folk questions and enjoy soaking up their pride about what ever it is they do, be it apples, alpacas or angus beef cattle. We treat our trip to the show as a trip to the country… as much as it is possible anyway, given the concrete jungle of Homebush!
very pretty girls...
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March 3rd, 2010 §
Beautiful new season Eggplants home grown by Josie
The first few days of Autumn certainly haven’t come unnoticed… it is discernably cooler and thank heavens given the humidity at the end of summer! We love a change in season because it means a change in produce and we love how this inspires a change in the way we cook and how we eat – it’s a bit like looking forward to wearing your favourite coat again after summer.. or getting out the doona again… » Read the rest of this entry «
February 28th, 2010 §
Cloth Napkin: My favourite hand stitched one from the Red Cross
In my kitchen I have a big old basin full of napkins: new and old, brights, whites and beiges; hand stitched, hand printed and perfectly plain. Full sets, special singles and even some I made myself (although I have only sewn 4 of the 20 I cut out months ago). There is definitely something civilised and special about using cloth napkins, even luxurious – not too mention practical. Yet, like the silver, I rarely get them out. So today I decided…
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February 23rd, 2010 §
Salted Caramel Ice Cream.. a bit icy because I rushed it, but still amazing!
When birthdays come around in our house the celebration is, of course, centred around food. The menu is always a surprise and usually something we haven’t either cooked or eaten before. Finding a dessert last week for Dugal’s birthday presented a real challenge, he is after all the dessert chief among us… but I found a winner! I won’t be posting this recipe under family food or easy ideas, it certainly isn’t something you can decide to make on the spur of the moment. Not that it is particularly difficult, just time consuming and rather long winded…but I promise well worth the effort. I rushed my batch so it is rather icy but that’s a fabulous excuse to make it again soon! If you read the recipe and decide its all too hard – don’t worry it will be featured very soon on the dinner menu at The Cooks Larder…
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February 17th, 2010 §
At The Cooks Larder yesterday we left pancakes on the menu all day…and in the afternoon I made a big batch of crispy caramelised pancakes to share with my family after school… The reason for all of this pancake indulgence was of course Shrove Tuesday. When I was growing up I would run home very fast from school on this day knowing that mum would be finishing up a big batch – just the way I like them – thin, crispy edged and loaded with sugar and lemon juice.
When it comes to pancake recipes, Margret Fulton has always been the recipe source in our family. My battered copy of Margeret Fulton’s Encylopedia Of Food and Cookery (bought for me by mum on my 18th birthday) was recently replaced and when I opened up the pancake page looked strange without the splattered sticky pages documenting Shrove Tuesdays gone by. Nevermind, there are plenty more to come. I took it one step further this time and caramelised them by cooking off the whole batch then cooked them again with a little butter and sugar in the pan before squeezing over lemon juice. It was a rich once-a-year indulgence that the kids loved, I loved, but my husband muttered (very quietly so as not to lose his share) that pancakes should be thick, fluffy and drowned in maple syrup!
Mum & I didn’t quite know the origins of Shrove Tuesday until I did a little research today. Basically Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the beginning of lent. But in my house I make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday simply because my mum made pancakes on this day, because her mum made pancakes on this day – and that’s a good enough reason for me! However you like them and for whatever reason, be it religion or family tradition, nothing beats a good pancake! Happy Shrove Tuesday….This is my favourite recipe, a slightly adjusted Margaret Fulton crepe recipe – a cross between her crepe and pancake recipe…and I use two pans to speed the process up!
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February 6th, 2010 §
image from gourmet farmer blog
We have been loving Matthew Evans SBS program, A Gourmet Farmer. Watching someone live your secret dream has been wonderful. We especially love ‘meeting’ all of the amazing producers in Tasmania -truly passionate, creative people – like the apple farmer who grows rare apples we never even get to see despite how good they are. He squeezes his own apple juice in an amazing wooden press. If you haven’t started watching it yet catch up soon online. Find a link here… » Read the rest of this entry «
February 2nd, 2010 §
Last week our family went on our very first big camping trip together. We decided on Treachery Beach on NSW mid north coast because it is known for its great surf and I like that they allowed open fires, unlike many National parks – after all what is a camp with out a campfire! It’s a bit of a challenge deciding that you want good food when you are out of the comfort zone of your kitchen but we bought a traditional cast iron camp oven and with no idea about camp fire cooking headed off with an esky bulging with good things.I thought I’d share a few of the campfire recipes I came up with – although my chorizo and fennel seed damper will need much more work before I consider posting that recipe! Meanwhile here are 2 that did work – not the prettiest of dishes but totally delicious and satisfying…and worth trying should you find yourself in the wilderness some time soon!
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January 21st, 2010 §
Today we spent a lovely day with friends at Mackerel Beach – our first trip over there. What an oasis of peace even for those of us who live on the beaches…. a wonderful community feel and we had a great day swimming, chatting… and best of all sharing food. Given the point of the day was to relax and getting there involve a boat trip we needed it to be super easy…
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