Food, Finds & Forays
Hey there....
I hope you’ve had a great week, I’ve been reclined in a camping chair eyes to the heavens gazing through these trees. Deeply breathing in fresh country air, gentle breeze on my face, sunshine poking through majestic old oak trees while we shook off the shackles of the last two years, laughing with friends and toasting to the future with some special fizz leftover from my ill-fated birthday celebration from earlier in the year. Gee it felt good, looking forward and contemplating the approaching summer months and all the raised glasses and special times with friends and family to come.
All these summer vibes have prompted me to share my favourite salad dressings with you to add to your repertoire. Perhaps you might also enjoy a special drink and nibbles and there’s a little tip for some sweet little treats for under the tree….or maybe even a hint to your someone special for yourself. Finally, during a mother fail moment a foray that’s unearthed a treasure trove of family food memories.
I hope there’s something here to get you in the mood for summer entertaining and the sunshine has found your lovely face….and not too much of the steamy humidity that’s enveloped Melbourne these last couple of days.
Have a great weekend,
S x
PS ~ this is our 12th Thursday morning together. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed creating this little letter every week for you and how very much I appreciate you coming along for the ride xx
Food
Ten houses down the street. The stretch of road, I knew like the back of my hand growing up. Each front garden and it’s blooms in every season, each dog’s bark and each neighbour’s wave on the path to my best friend’s house down the road. A well worn route two little girls, later teenagers and later again young women, would tread to each other’s homes where we’d each slip into each other’s families assuming the honorary place in the tribe and pecking order we were lovingly afforded. Where we’d feel as much at home as we did in our own homes, where reaching into a timber louvred pantry door to obtain ingredients to contribute to the ‘family’ meal felt as normal as it did at the other end of those ten homes. It was at these times that you were reminded that whilst always welcome and warmly embraced this family had it’s own pantry. One holding different flavours and ingredients for meals that made their memories special and that shaped their tastes and time together.
It's in this kitchen I discovered many flavours and dishes different from the ones my own family had shared meals in. Where soup was made of many different types of grated veggies and chicken simmered for a few hours or where mustard was king as a condiment on fresh fluffy white bread rolls with thinly sliced smoky ham for Saturday lunch. Condiments and embellishments for food often took pride of place in the centre of the table where tender, juicy roast beef was served with horseradish and hot English mustard and siblings competed with each other for the prize of the most resilient palate to tolerate the heat of the spicy yellow spread to loud cheers and jeers from amused parents. And in summer herby crumbed chicken fillets sizzled in a pan were served next to a fresh salad of crunchy iceberg lettuce and tomatoes robed with all manner of dressings. This both delighted and astonished me. I came from a kitchen of plain foods with few additions and fewer flavours. The notion that even a simple salad could be finished with a flourish and elevated was one of the discoveries that fascinated me.
Whilst the dressings were often of the bottled Kraft Foods variety Italian and French being my favourite, the thin tangy homemade mayonnaise made by Joan, the matriarch of my second family, was also notorious and even higher in my emerging culinary esteem. Now, inspired by those moments in that compact kitchen that exploded with flavour, even the simplest of salads always reach my table adorned with glistening ribbons of dressings threading flavour through the leaves and greens nestled together.
This coming summer, I thought you might like to try some of the dressings I use to add flavour to our sides inspired by Joan and a family who always made room at the family table for one more mouth and lots of flavour.
Ranch’ish Style Yoghurt Dressing:
½ c Greek yoghurt
1 tsp onion powder
1 garlic clove crushed
½ tsp dried dill OR 1tsp fresh dill finely chopped
1 tsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tb (20 ml) water
Classic Mustard Vinaigrette:
120 ml extra virgin olive oil
20 ml honey Dijon mustard
20 ml white balsamic/white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Sesame & Honey Dressing:
1/3 c (80ml) olive oil
1Tb tahini
2 tsp honey
3 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
With each dressing you can use one of a few methods. You can whizz in a blender until smooth and fully emulsified, usually less than a minute. I use a Vitamix using one of the small cups and blend for 20 seconds. You could also use a stick blender as per your appliance’s instructions. Alternatively and probably the most versatile is to place all ingredients in a jar with a secure lid and get your muscles working shaking until thoroughly combined. A good job for the kids if you have helpers.
They all keep well in the fridge though the yoghurt dressing probably should be discarded after five days….if it lasts that long.
Notes: For the mustard dressing I use Maille Honey mustard. It's a big favourite here but can be hard to get so when we see it we buy a few jars. If you don't have honey mustard replace with dijon and add a teaspoon of honey.
Finds
It’s four weeks and one day until Christmas eve. I know! How??
Growing up I always dreamed of a European Christmas eve celebration rather than the hustle and bustle of rushing from lunch with one side of the family to dinner with the other on Christmas day as we often do here in Australia. Obviously the warm steamy climes under the gum leaf canopy of our little bushy suburb doesn’t really lend itself to such a celebration but the practicality of an early gathering eventually won out with my mum…..or maybe my nagging wore her down. As someone who can’t wait until the big day, Christmas Eve is something I’ve embraced as an adult myself for my family and a tradition that’s embraced by my neighbours when we all gather together to toast to the festivities.
If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have noticed on the weekend that I’m quite partial to a glass of fizz and don’t need a special occasion to crack open a bottle. At this festive time of year with lots of bottles popping sometimes something a bit different and fun is also particularly lovely. For this year’s Christmas Eve, party which we’re hosting, I think I might serve this pretty jug of festive fun to kick things off. For non-drinkers there’s also some fantastic low-alcohol varieties hitting the market which would suit well. I think I might also add a dash of peach bitters to the glass to add a little extra zing too.
It's often very hot and steamy on Christmas Eve where I live so I think this little light starter might sit well next to that drink as everyone arrives. It looks so impressive but also like it’s pretty easy and we love those make ahead nibbles right? I might try a few different fillings too, maybe something with cream cheese, herbs and crème fraiche.
Whilst always a pretty casual affair it’s still nice to pop on a dress and zhoosh up a little at this time of year. Recently when I paid my subscription for gorgeous Graziher magazine I received a free gift with purchase. I’m such a sucker for those and love when I find something new through such a bonus. This year I received a lovely treat from this beautiful Australian rural business. I love them so much I might even purchase some for gifts.
Brown Brothers image courtesy of their facebooks page
Forays
Amongst other things this week I’ve been somewhat pre-occupied with the search for my son’s birth certificate…don’t ask it’s a long story but needless to say the Mother of the Year Award committee aren’t about to knock on my door. The search thus far has been unsuccessful so much so I’ve taken to hunting in strange places, like an old camphor chest I’d not opened for quite some time. After moving a few items on top my curiosity was piqued by some plastic bags that, through their opaque surface, appeared to hold what looked like newspaper clipping or magazines. Birth certificate forgotten and curiosity-o-meter firing I pulled out the bags to investigate. Enclosed in those white plastic shopping bags was a treasure trove of our family’s history, my Nana’s collection of recipes. Yellowed old newspaper clippings, handwritten notes and shopping lists, torn pieces of paper marking pages for cooking at a later date. All the conversations with cousins seeking missing recipes and deep examinations of how she made her pastry or what made her loganberry pie filling so special all spilling out of these innocuous old shopping bags. I was immediately transported back to her kitchen, her strong lined hands scratching down notes, her handwriting as familiar 20 years after her passing as if she were next to me. All those flavours and occasions marked by all those food memories. In the coming weeks I’m going to explore this treasured collection of hers, write down all those special recipes making lists of my own, experiment with all the traditional old-fashioned favourites and feel her embrace in these very special pages.
