Monthly Archives for April 2012

Succulent Centrepieces

I haven’t had a back yard since I was a kid, so any attempts I’ve had at growing a kitchen garden have been limited to balconies.

I’ve had no success with veggies, mixed results with herbs, but succulents have always come through with the goods.

They are my kind of plant: low maintenance, interesting to look at and multiply like rabbits. The latter means that you can snip off some flowers (leaves?) and incorporate them into indoor floral arrangements or dinner party table settings knowing there will be more to cut next week.

Many of these images are from wedding tables – but who said weddings should have all the fun? Succulents are so user-friendly, they’ll easily add some magic to your kitchen table every day.

Mixing colourful flowers with succulents on a big hunk of wood is so pretty, no? From the delightfully floral minds at Flora Grubb

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Middle Eastern Comfort Food

Two things conspired for me to find this video today.

One: I’m convalescing after my appendix rudely interrupted a planned trip to San Francisco, so I have some time on my hands.

Two: my intense love for Middle Eastern food.

I was recently asked what my favourite food was and the answer is clear. I find the flavours and experience of Middle Eastern food so comforting and exotic. I like the warmth (rather than blow-your-head-off heat) of the spices. The mix of textures keeps things interesting, from the delicacy of the pastries to the sturdiness of the lamb and grains. And the communal approach to a meal is how I love to eat – a big table spread with plates of this and that, and a bunch of hands indecisively hovering then exchanging dishes to share, just feels like a big hug to me.

Today I needed a recipe that was wholesome, comforting and inspiring. And this video lead me to one.

Bethany Kehd’s blog Dirty Kitchen Secrets is an amazing source of inspiration for Middle Eastern dishes. Bethany was born in America, raised in Lebanon, where she lived on a farm with her family and learned the ways of Lebanese food, and she now lives in the UK.

Bethany’s Red Lentil Soup has just shot to the top of my comfort food list.

Farmhouse Kitchen Dreams

I’m in a grass-is-always-greener moment where I’d like to give up my life in NYC and retreat to the country to become a farmer. Of course, I wouldn’t want to do any of the actual *work* that goes into running a farm. Instead I’d swan about my beautiful farmhouse kitchen, making scones and tending to my small herb garden. I’d sip on my home-grown herbal tea and make quilts sitting at the kitchen table, or something. One of these kitchens would do nicely I think. Though for now, I may have to suffice with some farmhouse inspired shopping.

Summer Home on Formentera from The Style Files; The ‘Antlers’ tea towel collection is designed by Richard McAdam, a Sydney based illustrator and printmaker; Teapot with Infuser in Latte from Husk.

Tea and Chocolate Tin Set; French Farmhouse Style from The Paper Mulberry; Pip Lovebird Plate from Husk.

Easter in Spring

As an Australian living in New York City I delight in celebrating feast days in the season in which they were first imagined.

A juicy roast turkey in the dark days of Christmas and a tender pink roast lamb at the dawn of a new season at Easter suddenly makes so much sense.

It was a treat to serve up a big hunk of roast beef and foods and drink laden with warm spices on Christmas Day without sweating buckets and worrying whether there was enough ice in the bathtub to keep the beer cold.

And so it was with Easter too. I’ve survived my first NYC Winter and am unnaturally excited about the prospect of cooking with the first bright green shoots of the season. I’m rapturous over the thought of asparagus and am plotting meals based entirely around peas to celebrate the change of weather and the abundance of “new” ingredients it brings.

I took full advantage of the return of green produce at the Union Square Market and served up Spring fare for a few close friends and family to celebrate Easter. We lamented the lack of hot cross buns in the city, whinged about not getting any public holidays and then made a toast to Spring and enjoyed a feast made up of: