Farmers' Market city style.

Straight off the plane and the first thing M wanted to do was drop in to the Eveleigh Farmers' Market   on the way home.  

This very successful market with over 70 stallholders is held every Saturday morning in an old Blacksmith's workshop in Darlington (between Newtown and Redfern).

 A great use of space that would have otherwise been left empty and derelict.

Organic cheese, milk and yoghurt to sample.

Even the purple sausages are made with natural produce - in this case beets. Very tasty.

Lots of fresh produce, grown and sold by small scale family producers. 

We bought cavalo nero, dutch carrots, zucchini flowers, organic lemons, honey from the mid north coast, some thyme and mint, spelt bread and a fruit and almond loaf for breakfast.   

Having worked for a time trying to get a Farmers' Market established I know their challenges. 

In this case, with lots of  urban dwellers living nearby and in walking distance it provides fresh produce, small dairy cheeses, olive oils, meat and seafood along with some very tasty food to eat on the spot.  

If this was closer to us I know we would be there every Saturday.

Mango season has arrived

It's mango season!

Mangos are not local to the Sydney region- but are grown further north

These are from the Northern Territory

At the moment they are in supermarkets and fruit shops everywhere.

Yesterday I bought 4 for $5 at the fruit stand near Wynyard Station in the city.

I have cut this one for breakfast- and the juice is running all over my hands and down my chin.

Summer is on its way!

Back in the City

I can't believe it is now four weeks since I arrived back to my city life.

For some reason I have found it a hard slog to get back into my blog. I try to think of something to write about and I come up with a blank.  Writer's block??

 I have been feeling that my farmlife had much more fodder for posting than my citylife.

Everyday on the farm there is something uniquely rural related that emerges and provides an image and the potential to wax lyrical.    

I also have more time. Time, to ponder the meaning of life and my place in it.

Back in Sydney I am more preoccupied with work naturally,  but I also find my days have more routine and less opportunity for the type of blog material I hope is interesting for you.

I thought it might help stimulate my creative juices if I look back at some of what I have done in the last four weeks.

I celebrated my birthday long distance with beautiful flowers from Mark 

and with good friends that night at the Rocks Vintage Dinner.

This is a great night of food and wine under the lampshade and stars in the historic Rocks area of Sydney. Very special.

Have been eating plenty of spring vegetables including these fresh peas and broad beans I made into a puree to go with lamb cutlets for dinner with my sister A and nephew L. We had a good night! And another the next with some more of the family.

Have been making some of my farmlife no knead bread at least once a week. Also tested a part wholemeal version which was delicious

Ate at Balla at The Star. The new Steve Manfredi restaurant.

 The Crave Sydney International Food Festival is on in October and the program of events includes "Lets do Lunch" at restaurants all over Sydney.

Their offer was two courses and a glass of wine for $38

Fish and a rich tomato, olive and caper sauce

Chocolate Crunch

I hadn't been to the Star Casino since its renovation and reopening and it is an absolute improvement on the old one. Not that I am a fan of Casinos - but the hotel, retail and dining looks very Sydney 5 star.

A special Sunday lunch in Bowral with W and P.

W's excellent pea tart went well with my zucchini ribbon salad, with mint and feta.

It was also tulip time in the Southern Highlands and it was blooming.

Set up my office at home. Adjusting to that - and really enjoying it.

Started a new project and also ramped up planning for the Australian Tourism Awards.

Lots of walking, reading, and catching up with friends for coffee, breakfast and dinner.

Not a bad life.  Is it worth reading about I wonder?

Farewell Dinner

My last night here for now.

We usually plan a "farewell to the farm for now" dinner for just the two of us and last night was one of the best.

Smoked salmon as we watched the sun go down

Duck Confit that we bought in France in May last year. 

We were curious  to try this canned version from the supermarket, to see how it rated compared to the ones we had eaten in France or had bought on line here in cryovac.

It was excellent - and perfectly cooked by Mark. Crispy skinned, moist and meaty.

The potatoes from our garden I cooked in the duck fat - they were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

The walnut oil dressing on our salad with apples and walnuts had enough acid to cut the fattiness of the duck - so that each mouthful was perfectly balanced. 

Gluttons that we are we didn't stop there and why would we? 

There were 2 apple crumbles waiting for us to eat with the last of our homemade vanilla ice cream

 When I started this blog I didn't realise how much I would end up writing about food and what we grow, prepare and eat. 

 In our city life a good meal is also something we relish - but here, when we often are planning meals around the produce from our garden and when we have more time to spend putting a delicious meal together it is a passion.

It is always sad to leave here. I often wish the farm was closer to Sydney - but if it was it wouldn't be the same.  These two different countries gives us two completely different lives.

Farewell to my farmlife for now-will see you in Sydney next week!

An apple a day

 Our two apple trees have been keeping us well supplied - and although these organic apples look somewhat spotty they are truly delicious.

Apple crumble to Australians or apple crisp to Americans is an easy dessert that gets great accolades including an empty plate - even though our friends may have been feeling they'd eaten enough already.

Peeling these unsprayed apples takes a little more time as I cut out the dark bits (no bugs) - and for every two apples I get about one whole.

The apples are simmered until just tender in a some water, brown sugar, lemon rind, a cinnamon stick and a dob of butter.

The crumble is created by mixing butter into plain or all purpose flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt with your finger tips.

Sprinkle thickly on top of the apples and bake until brown.

I use the individual one cup dishes - but it is also excellent in a large dish.

If you don't have this recipe let me know and I will email it to you.

Home again

Back from our short break to Connecticut and New York, including a three night stay in the city - 

New York City that is...

I am still reeling from the orgy of wining and dining, city street life and entertainment we experienced.

Sorting through my mind and photos for a post tomorrow.

In the meantime it's back to reality.

First job today was to pick up sticks strewn around the yard from the storm before we went away.

 And to gather these beautiful pears from under our old pear tree.

Delicious.

Eating well

Preparing and eating food is a pleasure/passion I enjoy in both my lives.  

"We're eating well" - I say when we have just finished another meal
that looks as good as it tastes, that is well balanced- aroma, flavour, and texture - and leaves us feeling happy and content with our lot in life.  

On the farm, when we have more time to prepare, present and eat our meals, often using our own produce, I seem to be saying those words a lot.
Some highlights from July.

Fried stuffed zucchini flowers, shrimp, green beans and sage leaves

4th July ribs

Peach cobbler and Mark's homemade vanilla icecream 

Left over grilled ribeye made into a salad with a tangy lemon dressing, tomatoes and green beans from our garden

Salade Nicoise - also with our tomatoes and beans

Zucchini, pea and corn saute with farfalle pasta

Roast local pork chop on a corn fritter,  green salad with a mustard thyme dressing and peach mojo

Sunday night's roasted corn risotto

I am looking forward to August

Bon appetit!

Last of the summer corn

Tonight we ate some fresh sweetcorn grown by our friends Steve and Dawn.  

Possibly the last that we will get our hands on this summer.

This recipe for Roasted Corn Risotto is one I have cooked on both sides of the world for a quite a few years.  It is one of my favourites.  The corn's roasted sweetness- slight caramelised, the creamy stock and just cooked arborio rice is a fresh and summery version of a traditional comfort food meal.

I would never have attempted this if it was a hot night - but at 80F with a fresh breeze we have had a perfect afternoon and it tempted me to the stove to stir my rice and stock, accompanied by a glass of a wine - a classic Californian chardonnay. What a match! And perfect later with the risotto.

Our verdict, the last of the summer corn is the sweetest.

Summer produce in a drought

Even though our corn crop has been severely affected by the 2012 Cornbelt Drought

 with careful watering of our vege garden we have managed to now have some wonderful summer produce.

  

Some sweetcorn grown by our neighbours and just picked one hour before we cooked it, added to our summer meal tonight.  This specialty crop of sweet corn grown on 1/4 of an acre and looking so much better than our field corn, benefitted from 10,000 gallons of  irrigation.  

Imagine that- unheard of in Australia.  A drought with unlimited water.  

But not obviously, available for wide-sacale farming.

Still...   No water restrictions here.   

In the meantime our dinner tonight included zucchini, the just picked sweet corn and sweet peas from our garden.

Dont worry, you will see more of the tomatoes over the coming weeks/months!

Do you have any special tomato recipes for everyday meals?

Please share.

Just picked

Fresh from our garden for dinner tonight

The last of the peas, green beans and new tomatoes.

Update:

Salade Nicoise

This was our dinner.

The presentation was from the cookbook  Patricia Wells" Salad as a Meal 

She is one of our favourite cook book authors and the salad was a fresh take on this Provencal classic.

We really liked the separation of the individual components- the vegetables were individually tossed in a light lemon and oil dressing ( I added touch of garlic).

Patricia used fresh tuna, grilled- we do not have that available locally so we tried two types of Trader Joe's canned tuna- the yellow fin and solid white - both in oil.

We liked the yellow fin best- it has more solid pinker chunks as seen on the top of the plate.  It was very similar to our favourite Italian tuna which is readily available in Sydney - Sirena  

The Bandol Bastide Blanche 2011 Rose was a perfect match.