Tart for a tart

It is my pleasure to present to you, the last of this summer's leeks. It's quite hard to take a shot of your bounty in the left arm with the camera in the right, very hard to titivate and I feel the angle doesn't really do justice to just how many leeks make up an armful. I guess this difficulty really presses the case for an old fashioned trug. This lady gardener does love the romance of wandering through the garden's gloaming, trug in one hand, secateurs in the other, plucking produce and blossom hither and thither.* I like to imagine that this is what the woman from the old Flake ad is upto when she's not busily devouring chocolate under that tree. She is wearing the perfect hat.


This trug above is not so old fashioned but indeed fashioned from something old. Very impressive recycling! I must speak to Husbando about sourcing some old tyres from work...perhaps I can also find the how-to for tyre swans. Many thanks to Kathreen of Whip Up for the image above. Check out her fantastic site with the link below and whip up your own tyre trug! http://whipup.net/2009/04/20/diy-tire-trug/


And so this what become of my lovely leeks. Not the most marvellous shot as I am not any kind of food stylist and what's more, I just really wanted to get eating. Between myself and my fellow diners, Husbando and his Mum, the verdict was unanimous - divine! I use Jamie Oliver's Greek Rustic Tart as a base and simply swapped out the spinach for sauteed leeks, the fetta and haloumi for gruyere and goat's cheese and threw in some bacon. Go easy on the goat's cheese as it is very rich and a little goes a long way. Plus, it's kinda expensive so nice to keep some in reserve for other treats. Goat's cheese, spanish onion and rocket bruschetta, anyone? I like to use Meredith Dairy Goat's Cheese as it's marinated in olive oil which is delicious long after the cheese has left the building. Stephanie Alexander was helpful as always with tips on leek prep, though I chose not to slice my leeks lengthwise and left them as more aesthetically pleasing rounds. However, I did pay the price for this headstrong approach (who am I to question Stephanie, really?) and burnt my fingers pushing the lovely soft concentric circles through.

Jamie Oliver's Rustic Greek Tart -

450gr packet of frozen spinach, thawed; squeeze out excess liquid
1 sheet of Ready Rolled shortcrust pastry
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
150gr haloumi, grated
120gr danish fetta, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme to sprinkle (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
2 eggs
small container of pouring cream

~ please note, Ii am very liberal when making these and tend to use the whole packet of haloumi, fetta and spinach. The above quantities make about 12 individual pies or one large one.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

If making individual pies, grease a cupcake pan, divide up pastry accordingly and press into pan - I find it easiest to cut sheet into squares and trim excess later, if you are feeling less than rustic! If you don't trim, keep an eye when baking as the edges are more likely to burn. Use alfoil to protect, especially if you plan to reheat later.

Spread spinach and garlic over the pastry, then haloumi, fetta and herbs.

Lightly beat 2 eggs into about 2/3 of the cream and season w salt and pepper.
Pour gently into each pie. If it seems too eggy, disperse with a little more cream.

Bake for 15 - 20 mins for individual pies or 30 - 40 for one large slab.
Pastry should be golden brown and the filling set.

Serve with lemon wedges and a fresh green salad and enjoy with friends!


*not to mention getting overly lyrical with her language.

Blogger's lament...

The final day of February, autumn's on the march and I haven't managed to get anything up since the third. Shame on you, lady gardener; there's been so much to share. The zucchinis just keep coming, though due to the hot and rainy conditions, I'm losing alot to rot. But for a first foray, I have been very pleased. The multitude has given me ample opportunity to refine the zucchini slice recipe, half a cup of oil is way too much and results in a very soggy, oily slice, a quarter of a cup is definitely the more responsible option. I've also been enjoying tomatoes in dribs and drabs; romas, cherries and the first of the yellow pear are just starting to come on. Each season, I love to make my green tomato chutney so keep an eye as I'll post the recipe soon. Leeks and beetroot have also been pulled and again, I am revelling in triumph, a leek tart was devoured before I even thought to photograph its perfection - shouts out to gruyere* and goat's cheese for coming to the party!

Another seasonal bonus is the second flush of roses. The old fashioned beauty above is delightfully scented and very full in its bloom. It occurred to me last night that roses, like boats are always female. I call this beauty, Pink Panther Perfection...you can call me the Queen of Alliteration.


View from the back steps...the cherry down the back is already sporting a few tentative orange bronze leaves.

*If I were in charge of a marketing campaign for this cheese, it would definitely include the phrase gru-YEAH!

the beast with two backs

How awesome is this? Have to believe that this is ladybird love and not just one ladybird getting all road rage with another. I've been amazed at how many ladybirds have flocked to my zucchini plant, the one of wrote of in my last post was obviously the scouting party! You can see in this shot how much they've enjoyed feasting on the leaves, plus in the background is the second flush of Hula Lady at Sunset. I feel a real kinship with these little beauties as I'm snapping off the zucchini bounty they leave behind. For a first attempt with zucchini, I am thrilled with the results and am now in the thick of a zucchini cuisine crusade. A personal favourite is Zucchini Slice, a recipe perfected by my fabulous mother-in-law which is perfect for lunch or light dinners, especially on days as stinking hot as this.

You need:

3 decent zucchinis, grated and preferably homegrown - I feel entitled to gloat!

1/2 cup oil of your choice

5 eggs

1 cup SR flour

1 cup grated cheese

1 onion

3 bacon rashers or equivalent of ham

Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

2 grated carrots

Salt and Pepper

Ground Cumin

Mix oil and eggs, add the flour and then mix in all the other ingredients, slap in a loaf tin, lined with baking paper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180degrees C for 45mins or until cooked through. Serve with a flourish and a handpicked green salad just because you can and aren't afraid of being called a show-off.

Roaming in the Gloaming

Apparently dusk in Australia is quite abrupt in comparison to that of the Northern Hemisphere, where that precious part of the day's end is called the gloaming. I feel there's something very Tolkien, very middle earth about the notion. On a perfect summer's evening mountainside, these are some of the things a hobbit might see in Magic Garden, before dawdling back to their burrow and pouring themselves a large G & T.

I do so love the passionfruit flower. I like how obvious the structure is and how neatly each component overlaps and layers the next. I found this one in tangle with a Daphne halfway down the garden path and neither plant could be said to be flourishing. The passionfruit is super straggly and is suckering everywhere and the Daphne is yellowing and lacklustre. Whilst Daphne usually thrives in this cool climate, sadly, it isn't really appropriate for passionfruit, a truth I learnt the hard way in my first garden at the Gospel Hall.

However this provides a fabulous segue to one of my reading highlights from last year was a book called Indelible Ink by Fiona McGregor. The main character reinvents herself, empowers herself through a late in life tattoo addiction and the designs she chooses are very botanically correct impressions of her favourite plants. In effect, she becomes her garden, the vine and flower of the passionfruit feature prominently as her confidence grows. I'm too much of a scaredy cat to ever contemplate a tattoo (and I'm not so secretly thrilled I never acquired one during my misspent youth) but McGregor's prose had me seeing so clearly how beautifully the passionfruit vine could adorn a body.

Leeks apparently enjoy the company of carrots, celery and apple trees and whenever I can, I do like to companion plant. However, leeks also like similar situations to the Allium family so in theory, lettuce and salad leaves should work as well. As these greens are pretty low impact, I hope I'll be supplementing my salad bowl in time.

If you were a tiny creature beneath this cathedral like canopy, perhaps you'd feel inspired to religious conversion...or maybe you'd wonder who'd put the acid in your drink?


All hail my Zucchini triumph! This is my first attempt with these magical members or the Curcurbita family and I am thrilled with the results. Both the male and female flowers can be eaten but only the female flower will bear fruit. According to Wikipedia, strictly speaking, the zucchini is an immature fruit as it is technically the swollen ovary of the female flower. Which is a somewhat disturbing thought...if your zucchini plants are producing too many swollen ovaries, this provides a perfect excuse to pick and stuff the flowers and then flash fry in a light batter.


And as I say goodbye, I invite you to say hullo to a lovely ladybird friend, I think my favourite of all the insect visitors. This little lady was obviously very happy with a zucchini leaf dinner as she hung around for over 2 days!

Snakes in a motherfu*kin' orchard!

In an effort to follow through on an important resolution; which is to actually do the cool things we see advertised*, rather than just say 'Oh, that looks interesting, I must put that in the diary, I must book tickets,' and then not, the day after New Year's Day (aka January 2), we packed up the children and gathered some friends to go berry picking at Cloud Farm orchard in Mt Tomah. The title of this post doesn't quite cover the degree to which Husbando and I had bought into the romance of fruit picking as neither of us had quite computed that when the ad in the local paper says, wear protective footwear that actually translates as a warning about snakes. However, when I mentioned this to the lovely Kellie, she said she was petrified the entire time but that no-one else seemed concerned. But as she said, everyone but us was wearing serious boots...hmm, live and learn?

Despite very humid conditions beneath the netting, we escaped with our berry booty unscathed. I felt very mother earth as I dallied, delicately placing my treasures into my very modern earth mother's green recyclable bag - another oversight as I hadn't thought of bringing a more appropriate collecting container! We came home with raspberries, both red and yellow, blueberries and gooseberries (which I'd never tried and found rather tart) and whilst I had rather grandiose plans for a berry tart, using a shortbread biscuit base and a marscapone filling, funnily enough, it didn't eventuate.

This foray to Cloud Farm was organised by the Blue Mountains Fruit and Nut Network. Their aim is to document and protect the region's rich heritage of fruit and nut cultivation through hosting events such as this and their blog, which can be found here at blogspot (the full address can be found below). Next up in the ripening rotation at Cloud Farm are apples and figs and so I'll be keeping an eye on the blog as I do love to make an apple jelly. Slowfood and the word locavore have become so overused that it's nice to see examples of these catch phrases in practise.

http://bmfruitandnuttreenetwork.blogspot.com/

If you head to their blog, you'll see that I have used 2 of their lovely images, immediately above and below. I hope this is ok and thankyou!

*I've come to the conclusion that this is vital when you live just outside a major metropolitan area. So near and yet so far! A city in a national park, a world heritage area no less! Supporting regional initiatives is a priority and one I take very seriously but it also means taking yourself further afield and making an effort to stay in touch with what the wider world has to offer. If you don't, it becomes really easy to feel that life is passing you by and that you're not a particularly interesting person. Guess it's that old classic, you reap what you sow and as our excursion to Cloud Farm proves, it doesn't have to cost the earth.

hello from hiatus!

I worked in television long enough to know that a hello from hiatus is somewhat of an oxymoron. But as I am also celebrating New Year's Eve at home, alone and sober, I feel such contradictions are totally permissible. If only there was a Gilmore Girls marathon on... oh my not-so-secret shame!

Since last I wrote, it's fair to say the world has changed and then changed again. And it's made me slightly melancholy, which it shouldn't because everything and everyone is on the up. So in an effort to get to take emotional charge, I'm getting all Pollyanna on myself and I'm making a list. I'm calling it my "All kinds of Awesomeness" list, I want to remind myself of 2010's highlights.

1: Bringing home our new baby from hospital...twice. The first time, she was 3 days old and I couldn't wait to welcome her into our space. I'm pleased to report that the divine Miss E is doll baby one moment and then, old man, alien face the next - a most beguiling mix with very low monkey factor. She is just perfect and I feel quite bewitched.

2: The second involved a frightening bout of viral meningitis over Christmas and I'm so glad she's alive for us to tell the tale. It's this episode that has me so reflective.

3: Introducing our newly minted big sister to her baby sister. Being a big sister myself, I was very keen for this to go well. Husbando and I invested a lot of time telling Miss C how the baby couldn't wait to meet it's big sister, how much it loved her already, how much fun they're going to have and whilst the transition hasn't been seamless, I don't know that it could have gone much better. Husbando has already been banished to the end of the bed with the (male) cat as "this is the girl boat, Daddy!"

4: Seeing the divine Miss C dance to Phoenix's Too Young. This track would feature prominently on the soundtrack of my life. Watching your 3yr old discover her inner ballerina to it, counts as one of 2010's great laughs. Truly hysterical, one of those moments that makes you wish you were part cyborg, recording and downloading any data that you'd like to revisit whenever the desire takes you.

5: Driving with my darling Husbando. We've been lucky enough to have a couple of weekends away this year without Miss C and silly as it sounds, being together on the way to wherever, has been just a nice as when we got to our destination. There's something about the anticipation, in being in the car together, without having to keep a small person entertained, that has been a lovely reminder of who we

are. I don't want to look at Husbando and see only my children's father, nor for him to only see me as a mother.

6: Starting this blog and committing to it...and slowly telling people it exsists. In the new year, I'm going to get braver with my writing and more assertive again. I need to show more discipline if I want to make this happen.

7: Through the success of BookClub/Ladies who drink and dine, I have made some fabulous new friends this year and cemented some old ones. I feel really lucky to have such a wonderful group of women in my life. Thank-you ladies! And to my darlings who don't live so close, let's just keep those phone dates coming...friday night with a glass of wine in hand, it's almost as good...not quite!

8: I do not see nearly as much music as I used to but I like to think that now I cherry pick the gigs...this year I finally saw the Polyphonic Spree (I cried) and also Florence and the Machine. All kinds of awesome, indeed! And for Christmas, I got tickets to see Cat Power at the Opera House at the end of the month. Lucky me!

9: That despite my grief over garlic, some bulbs have sprouted! There's a tomato ripening on the vine! Hydrangeas have been uncovered! Magic Garden has taken more of a back seat than I would have liked this year, partly due to pregnancy and partly because that was part of the plan. I now have a better understanding of the garden's composition and more of an idea as to Magic Garden's future. Stay tuned in 2011!

Hula Lady at Sunset

Big day today! The baby is due, in theory, the divine Miss C is off with her grandparents and so there are few better things to do other than potter in Magic Garden. Roses aplenty to deadhead and I've planted out some yellow pear seedlings, courtesy of the lovely Kellie. Am off to my favourite cafe for lunch with 2 of my favourite ladies and then it's home for a sleep. I am blooming with possiblity and the rose above is a reminder of that process...yes, I think the hypnobirthing affirmations are taking root. In time, I intend to get all Magnun PI with the nomenclature but today's not really the day. In the meantime, I call her Hula Lady at Sunset and remember good times.