Food, Finds & Forays

Hey there....

I've had a great week, I hope you have too. Lockdown's over here, so masks are off outdoors, shops and restaurants are open and travel limits are lifted. There's a lightness around town. Everyone's smiling, relaxed and happy. We had a long weekend just gone which ironically we spent at home not away camping as we normally would. We did however head off for a day trip down the coast to visit family on Sunday where I was reminded of my love for the ocean. More about that later though.

We've been enjoying some beautiful spring weather recently with a few short bursts of cooler weather just to remind us summer is a little ways off yet. Lovely balmy nights drawing us outside to enjoy dinner as the sun sets and the bird song serenades have been tempered with the odd day of cooler weather. It was a short sharp arctic blast that reminded me of a favourite soup recipe I hadn't made for a while that I thought you might enjoy too. It's a great one to use up leftover roast lamb and vegies that have seen better days with just enough spice to warm you up.

I have a mixed bag of 'finds' for you this week all celebrating family in different ways. A lovely movie, a gripping page turning book impossible to put down and one of my favourite ingredients.

And finally I share some thoughts on one of my places for a foray and to reignite creativity when it's flame wains or flickers.

I hope you've had a great week and have been enjoying my little weekly missives. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me every week and for all your beautiful messages and pics of your cooking. I hope you find something you enjoy this week too xx

Food 

Discussing first memories recently, my son asked what mine was. Not surprisingly it involved food. I’m one of those people who have extremely early memories. My earliest recollection is of very little me, perhaps three years old, sitting in a high chair, legs swinging, chubby little hands rested on the cool timber look Laminex tray table, white vinyl upholstery and chrome frame cradling a hungry little body awaiting dinner. In our small timber kitchen mum placed my bunnykins bowl full of lamb and barley soup in front of me with matching spoon. I distinctly remember announcing I didn’t like the ‘rubber’ (fat layer) on the chops I’d been served earlier and leftover soup being offered to me instead. Little morsels of shredded lamb shank meat and pearly white barley floated in clear salty broth dotted with tiny oily droplets across the surface and though no doubt a messy affair I devoured that bowl of soup.

I still love soup and still love lamb though my palette is a little more sophisticated and I sit in a big girl’s chair now.
With the arctic blast that interrupted our gorgeous spring weather at the end of last week a big bowl of warming soup was on my mind. Using left over roast lamb from earlier in the week and loads of veg still left in the fridge I set about cooking one of my favourites. It’s a good one for the end of the week as it uses up lots of bits leftover from the week with a few cans from the pantry. It's hearty and satisfying and on the table quickly with little effort….And yes no matter the season there’s always a place for soup, even in spring.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium to large carrot peeled and diced
1 stick of celery finely diced
1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves crushed or grated
½ a red capsicum diced
2 tsp rose harissa (regular is fine if that’s all you have)
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp chermoula spice mix
100-150 gm of cooked leftover lamb chopped
1 400 gm can chopped tomatoes
1 400 gm can chickpeas drained and washed
5 cups of stock (chicken or beef, whichever you have is fine)
1 cup frozen peas 
1 handful of baby spinach leaves, stalks removed and finely chopped

Method:

In a medium to large saucepan over high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic and capsicum turn heat down to medium low and gently saute vegies for five minutes or until softened but not browned. Increase heat to medium and add lamb and quickly heat stirring for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and harissa paste and fry off for a few minutes until fragrant. Sprinkle in spice mix and fry off for a minute to release flavour and aroma. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and stir quickly to warm and combine. Pour in stock and stir thoroughly bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for thirty minutes. Add peas and spinach and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Season to taste, serve.

Serve with warmed flat bread a sprinkle of mint or parsley and perhaps a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

Notes:

If Lamb is not to your taste or unavailable you can omit and increase vegies for a vegetarian/ vegan option. Alternatively add equivalent cooked chicken.

Any canned pulse can substitute the chickpeas.

Frozen spinach is a great substitute, 1-2 cubes will do the trick.

If using whole canned tomatoes give them a chop up in the can with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors.

Feta sprinkled on top is delicious alternative to yoghurt.

Finds

Every week when I sit down to write this section of the newsy a theme has tied the finds section together guiding me through my ramblings. Other times, like this week, a thread reveals itself like a pulled strand on a favourite knit found the day after a fabulous night out, surprising you by its emergence and leaving you wondering how that happened.

As I collated my little list this week I felt somewhat discombobulated by my collection, but as I ate my breakfast this morning in unseasonably hot sunshine the thread emerged like glistening gossamer. Family! In all it’s forms, good and bad, broken and bonded. This little list are all stories inspired by the journeys of families. 

In a house full of screens with everyone ensconced in their own viewing I’ve seized control of the ‘big screen,’ fondly remembered as a device called the television. Surfing for something to watch recently I stopped at Melissa McCarthy’s new movie The Starling. It’s a more dramatic role than we’re used to seeing her in but one she inhabits and masterfully portrays. Alongside Irish honey Chris O’Dowd (remember him in Bridesmaids as the highway patrolman?) the story of a young couple enduring  and surviving a heartbreaking tragedy unfolds. It’s sad, sweet, gentle and ultimately uplifting. It’s a beautiful film to watch visually and an inspiring story. The experts haven’t given the movie glowing reviews but I loved it. It’s available to stream on Netflix.

One of my favourite Instagram accounts to follow is Australian author Sally Hepworth. She’s quirky, irreverent and always entertaining. She also happens to be on of my favourite authors. I finished her latest book, The Younger Wife, today in that aforementioned sunshine and as usual LOVED it. Sally’s books are always page turners in the course of some type of more unusual family drama in a suspenseful theme. In this book our protagonist, Heather, Marries Stephen who’s wife is suffering from advanced dementia. Stephen's daughters, both older than the bride, share their stories too with all their quirks, neurosies and mysteries. The book opens with a bang quite literally and lurches from twist to turn through each chapter. Sally has a way of finishing each chapter with a little hook, enough to make you promise yourself 'just one more chapter,’ until your eyes are falling out of your face but you cant bare to put it down and go to sleep. This is a huge recc from me.

A couple years ago I received Ottolenghi’s book Simple. As with much of his writing it called for an ingredient I’d not heard of before, Rose Harissa. At the time, here in Melbourne, it took some effort and googling to locate a jar near me. The only brand I could find was one by Melbourne based company Josh & Sue. I’ve since fallen in love with the ingredient and brand. Sue and her teenage son Josh have developed an extensive range of high quality jams, relishes, chutneys and pastes like the harissa made with the best ingredients and on a small scale maintaining the high level of consistency and quality they pride themselves on. Like a lot of businesses like it, Josh & Sue was born out of changing family circumstances. Sue was looking for a career change from her corporate role to give her more time with her young son and to accommodate his food allergy problems. Her love of cooking and good food led her down the path of the food trade starting in small community markets with Josh who’d help his Mum from the age of 10 selling their wares. The products are now available in a huge range of deli’s, gourmet supermarkets, online and still in some markets. 
 

Forays 
The ocean holds an almost visceral pull for some. I’m one of those people. I live an hour from the nearest beach but no matter which one I drive to, as I get closer to water a calm begins to wash over me like the waves I approach. Wind and rain or sunshine and gentle breeze, I’m drawn to sand in the toes and salt in my hair. It’s not something I can easily explain. Growing up we weren’t a family who enjoyed sun kissed seaside summer escapes like those who join the Christmas exodus annually. The great aussie tradition of a car bulging at the seams with surfboards, bags, tents and excited kids begging to know how much longer until they can run from the car and romp in the waves was not one we indulged in growing up so I’m not sure where my connection comes from. No matter where in the world I’ve been though, that sense of calm and home never fails to wash over me. As a photographer, too, I never fail to be inspired by the expanse and drama of a seascape. Whenever I need creative release or inspiration a wander on a beach immediately lifts my spirits and camera. I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you and maybe offer you some quiet moments of seaside daydreams.