Behind The Scenes

Two weeks slipped by so easily between posts.

So now I'm making space to reflect which is something we don't do enough in the busy times we live in.

If we just continually strive to keep up with the busyness, how do we ever change track if the busy one isn't getting us where we really want to be? Isn't fulfilling us?

That's why I think making time to reflect and appreciate is important.

And for me that usually means writing.

So, what's been happening over these past two weeks?

Well, I made pastry. By hand. From scratch.

I rubbed butter into flour, then poured a couple of tablespoons of chilled water into the buttery, floury mix and 'cut' the water in with a butter knife like I watched my great grandmother do a thousand times standing by her side when I was a child.

Her kitchen was a haven for me. I learnt so much and every time I make pastry I think of her and think how lucky I am to have learnt a skill that not many people learn now as part of their childhood.

I rolled the pastry out with a yellow handled wooden rolling pin gifted to me by my friend Lucy who I haven't seen in years but I have such warm memories of our old friendship, of a time when all our babes were babies and we spent more time together because life was running slow on 'baby time'.

Lucy would call me on a weekday morning and say "I'm making pikelets, come 'round" and we would sit with the children, drink tea, chat and eat pikelets dripping with butter and jam.

***

This year was the first year that Melbourne Cup really bothered me - sorry to my friends who love frocking up and having a flutter - first and foremost what bothered me most was thinking about those beautiful horses and what they endure, and then there is just the excess that goes with the whole thing.

I know it translates to jobs across lots of industries but there was just something about it this year that made me feel...icky. It was interesting to see amidst the photos of fashion and opulence there was also so much backlash against the Cup on social media this year. I took it as a sign of evolution!

***

I marvelled at grace this past week.

I have a darling friend, Tess.

Tess is amazing and wonderful and talented and funny, strong and smart, she's a damn fine cook,  a natural born writer, loves a wilderness adventure, a mama to two beautiful boys, wife to a beautiful man. And, she is living with cancer.

The cancer part completely sucks. To say the least.

Not so long after Tess was diagnosed we upgraded our friendship and adopted each other as sisters, which is a gift I treasure.

Last week we got to go out for lunch together and when we arrived at the cafe, a spunky young waiter beamed a smile at us and welcomed us in, he asked 'how are you?'

Those three little words rang through me.

Tess smiled graciously, said she was good and we were seated at our table.

Despite all the pain and nausea and vast unknown that is cancer, Tess was gracious and warm and engaging with every person we encountered.

I mean, I know when people ask 'how are you?' they're not expecting to get your life story - or sometimes even the truth - but this day Tess was grace personified and it stood out to me.

***

On the weekend I opened the Sunday papers to see my friend Georgie and her gorgeous fam smiling back at me, a story featuring their beautiful home and Georgie's art.

Looking at those pages, well it all looks so effortless right G? :)

But we all know that behind every success story there's hard work, determination, highs, lows, wins and losses.

You see Georgie used to be a cosmetic sales manager, she was great at her job but she had a natural born talent with a paint brush she wasn't using.

We all nudged her along, 'what are you doing?!' 'you should be painting!'

I wrote the press release for her first exhibition.

The paintings were beautiful. Deep, moody hues, her signature take on florals and blooms.

Georgie worked fiercely to paint those paintings with a baby at her feet and side jobs to juggle to pay the bills and make it all happen.

And happen it has, but it took courage and faith and focus and a whole cheer squad which I'm happy and proud to be part of.

***

Another gorgeous talented friend (lucky me to have so many lol) leant me a copy of Lunch Lady this week, ooh how I love it! The writing is so good. The recipes simple and yummy. The design is fun, love everything about it.

***

And I've been listening to Ann Patchett on the Beautiful Writer's Podcast, so inspiring about committing to one's craft and just Doing The Work.

***

Scary moment of the week was receiving a text from a school mum friend to say that Sol had broken the news to her son that...SANTA ISN'T REAL!!!! Omg.

That's what happens when you have a big brother.

I had a chat with Sol and borrowed the advice from my sister-in-law, explaining to Sol he is now the keeper of the magic of Christmas for the little children so it's best he keeps that special knowledge to himself.

#disasteraverted #magicofchristmassaved

***

There are always so many layers to what goes on behind the scenes of people's public lives, how we all have private stories and that more than ever being kind to each other really matters.

I'm making time to count my blessings and instead of being hard myself for all the things I haven't done, I'm noting all the things I have done and moving forward feeling happy from there.

Because big hearted love for this life with all it's highs and lows, hurts and triumphs is what's needed.

(Coffee, chocolate and wine are not the answer. Take it from me and my pants that came back from the dry cleaner this week and don't do up).

mad women in the attic

You can't make old friends. It takes years to become one.

On Saturday night I celebrated the fortieth birthday of my dear long time friend Clare (for some reason I look like I have combat make up on in the photo. I don't).

Clare's birthday dinner got me thinking about long time friends. As the saying goes, new friends are silver and old friends are gold. Nothing can replace the ease and the shared history that you have with a friend who has known you for a long time.

Clare and I met in the Women's Room at Melbourne University when we were 19. We both majored in Women's Studies and were, like most leftie arts students, firmly convinced we could change the world by the end of our degree.

Clare took me on my first Reclaim the Night march through the streets of Melbourne. Over the years we met up in cafes in Carlton and various share house parties to talk politics, relationships, family dramas, feminism and everything in between.

In our mid twenties Clare and a few other friends started a group called 'Mad Women in the Attic', once a month we would get together and talk more of the same politics, feminism, relationships, we'd drink, eat and try our hand at something creative, sketching, painting, knitting and the like. We were ahead of the craft is cool revolution happening now!

Clare always had and continues to have an incredible magnetism and ability to gather people from all walks of life around her and rally them together to achieve greater good.

Her heart and head are currently immersed in her work with asylum seekers, some of who are now her friends and were at her birthday dinner. Their story of seeking asylum and the daily pain of being separated from their young children who are still back in their country of origin is unimaginable. Beautiful, humble people who it was a pleasure to meet and for who I pray are reunited with their children. They are blessed to have Clare and her team in their corner.

I'm immensely proud of Clare for the way she lives so solidly by her values and lives life so wholeheartedly. And while we only see each other once or twice a year now instead of every second day our friendship stays strong.

I'm blessed with a good collection of long time friends like Clare. Sure the seasons of life can change the look and feel of friendships, some are cut unexpectedly short, some turn out not quite what you thought they would be, there are the stayers, you can count on them no matter how high the tide rises or falls. And then there are those rare and special friendships you make where it feels like an old friendship from the start.

Happy birthday Clare x

How about you? Tell me a favorite friendship moment in the comments, or a lowlight!

love, friendship and a kitchen colander

If you've read my about page you will know that I thank my great grandmother, Emily Rowe, for fostering in me a love of cooking and sharing good food with family and friends. I feel very blessed to have known and loved Grandma, as I called her, for the first eighteen years of my life. I was devastated when she died in her mid-eighties; she lived a long life but I thought she would live forever she was such strong and vibrant woman. And of course she does live on forever in my heart and I suppose you could say in her cooking legacy too.

Some weeks after Grandma’s funeral my Nan (Grandma’s daughter) presented me with a beautiful gift: Grandma’s rose gold wedding band (pictured above). I felt so honoured and treasure Grandma's ring to this day, especially because two and a half years ago Pete placed this ring on my finger when we were married.

So. You can imagine how upset I was when last monday this precious ring flew off my finger and into the sand on the beach at Ocean Shores. We've been starting our mornings at the beach while we are here in northern New South Wales, Pete surfs and River, Sol and I play on the sand. This particular morning Pete was out in the waves and I had been reading to the boys, I stood up to brush sand off my legs and goodbye wedding ring. Yes there were tears.

On hands and knees, River, Sol and I gently crawled around the patch of sand where we had been sitting. I couldn't understand why the ring was not just sitting on top of the sand, as it was so early in the morning and the sand was flat and undisturbed. After twenty minutes Pete came out of the water and joined us in our search. After an hour Pete suggested we leave and track down a metal detector.

My initial response when the ring went flying was that I wouldn't leave the beach until it was found. After an hour of searching and feeling like the ring had actually vanished, Pete's suggestion sounded good. And rational.

We went home and started making phone calls starting with a tools and equipment hire company "Oh no your wedding ring!" came Glen's sympathetic voice. "I'm so sorry we don't have a metal detector, what we do have is a phone number of a guy called Lance he's a bit of a character, a bit like a snake charmer. Lance has a metal detector and he'll come out and search the beach for you for a fee. Gee good luck with it". Glen's sincerity was almost cause for more tears. We called Lance. No answer. We left a message and moved on to the next phone number, Tom a friend of a friend, Tom has a metal detector. A few messages later I finally speak to Tom. Tom is busy all day and into the night, not able to get home to get the metal detector "I'd be able to help you out tomorrow afternoon." TOMORROW AFTERNOON! That is a whole tide change away. 

As disappointed as I was feeling I still had losing the ring in perspective. In reality it was a band of metal, yes a very special and sentimentally valuable piece of metal but I still had what is most important in life - my health, my family and friends. So I said to Tom, "Tomorrow afternoon would be fine. I am being philosophical about this and if I am meant to find it I will."

To cheer me up and take my mind off the sadness I was feeling Pete suggested we go out for lunch at our friend's health food shop in Brunswick Heads and meet up there with our friend Meghan. I have to admit I wasn't feeling particularly social but agreed because I knew sulking wasn't going to help either. 

I felt so upset I couldn't order anything to eat or even my daily coffee which is normally a highlight of my day! I ordered chai. Meghan arrived with her friend Janice and as I sipped chai I shared my wedding ring woes. Meghan and Janice listened, were sympathetic and then like all great women went above and beyond the call of duty without fanfare.

Well if I had access to a brass band for the afternoon I'd send them marching up Meghan and Janice's street because let me tell you these ladies deserve fanfare. After lunch Meghan and Janice put their shopping plans on hold and went home to get colanders from their kitchens. They then headed to the beach. To search for my ring. Sisterhood in action right there.

Based on very vague information from me at lunch about our whereabouts on the beach where the ring was lost, Meghan and Janice had decided they were going to find my wedding ring, Emily Rowe's wedding ring.

In my mixed up emotional relay of the story I had said we were at the second track along the beach, when in fact it was the third track. The ladies arrived at the second track and on the beach within minutes Janice announced to Meghan "We're not in the right place". Undeterred they walked to the end of the next track. "This is it," declared Janice confidently "I can see the finger marks in the sand where they've been looking". 

Meghan later tells me on the phone, "We found the area and drew a rectangle in the sand around it, and then we had a system so we didn't miss anywhere working along the edge of the rectangle putting handfuls of sand through the colanders". Can you believe their kindness? Determination? Focus? I am still in awe!

And what I am even more in awe of is that they FOUND MY RING!!

Meghan put her had into the sand and didn't even need the colander, she felt the ring in the sand and screamed out to Janice "I've got it!" Just at that moment they looked up at the water and saw a whale. True story.

I was speechless when Meghan phoned. Speechless and grateful. I couldn't work out what I was more overwhelmed by - their kindness or the fact that they found my ring.

Thank you, thank you, thank you ladies. I am forever grateful xxx

food + friendship: Liana's chicken and rice recipe

One of the things I love about spending time with friends in their home is cooking and sharing recipes. Meals that seem a bit everyday to them because they have cooked them so many times, are fresh to my senses. This dish from our beautiful friend Liana (pictured above with her son Maren who is proudly holding a trophy for being best player on ground in his first ever rugby game. His uncle is an international rubgy player so I think it is in the genes!) who we stayed with on our recent trip to Auckland fits that description. "Really, the recipe for my humble friday night dinner is blog worthy?" asked Liana. Yep. Because it is simple and scrumptious! Just what the mamas are looking for.

I love the memories that are tied to certain recipes. Now when I cook this recipe I will remember this trip. Pete and Liana's husband Marama are long time friends and this was the first time all of our children had met. On the first morning while the children whirled around us upstairs and down, making cubbies, dressing up, a bit of light saber action, Liana and I sat at the kitchen bench drinking tea and catching up. It has been almost seven years since we had seen each other. Liana and Marama came to visit us when River was about five months old and then in the meantime returned to Auckland and had Maren and then very soon after, like less than a year after had twin baby girls!!! Hearing the story of the twins early arrival in the world had us both welling up with tears as we looked at photos of them so incredibly tiny at 31 weeks, and now so robust.

Tea drunk, birth stories shared, tears dried it was time to round up the children and take them across the road to the park before heading to the local cafe for coffee for the mamas and fluffies for the children. (A fluffy is the New Zealand version of a baby cino :)

Dinner that night was this completely satisfying dish of tender chicken and fragrant rice served with perfectly steamed green veggies. Marama has a penchant for New Zealand Otago pinot which we were happy to enjoy with him.

Thank you Liana, Marama and family for sharing your home and your recipe. xx

Liana's Chicken & Rice Recipe

3 cups chicken stock

1.5 cups jasmine/basmati rice

6 chicken thigh fillets (organic preferably!)

4 cloves of garlic - cut in half

6 slices of ginger 

1 green chilli - chopped (optional of course if your children aren't up for chilli)

- add stock, garlic, ginger and chilli to a wide pot that has a lid (a deep frypan is ideal) and bring to boil

- add rice, stir to distribute rice evenly on bottom

- top with chicken thighs 

- turn stove to lowest heat and put a tight fitted lid on the pot

- cook 20 mins

- when cooked topped with chopped fresh spring onions and coriander 

- serve with soy sauce/tamari

mussel in

I feel lucky to have married a fisherman who regularly comes home with dinner fresh from the sea. Last night the veggie patties in the fridge were put on hold when Pete arrived home with mussels and squid. Enough to share with neighbours and friends. Pete wanted me to tell you that he had been waiting for a day like yesterday to get some mussels, "the bay was like glass, the sky was without a cloud and there wasn't a seal in sight". Apparently the mussels live in an area that is usually a playground for seals. Lucky for us they weren't around yesterday.

Robin called in on the way home from school pick up and left with some of the catch, she shared with us the way her mum cooked mussels. Measurements were not part of the recipe that Robin outlined, it was more a short list of simple ingredients brought together with a whole lot of feeling. We waved Robin goodbye and I headed out to buy the ingredient missing from our pantry - white wine.

Home again and continuing on with teaching River and Sol to cook more than cake, I called them into the kitchen to learn how to cook mussels with spaghetti. Yes it is messier and takes longer cooking with children but hey that's parenting, one endless lesson in patience. Back to the mussels. Pete had taken to the shells with a scrubbing brush so they were shining and clean ready for the boys and I to create dinner.

River chopped flat leaf parsley with scissors while Sol attempted to crush garlic before he decided that the scissors looked like more fun, so they swapped jobs while I got a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti.

Parsley chopped and garlic crushed, Sol moved on to scissoring his way through lengths of spring onion and River tackled zesting a lemon. I chopped a brown onion figuring I would save all of us the pain of onion vapour in their eyes. Then with mise en place complete (fancy French way of saying ingredients and kitchen equipment ready to go) I sent them off to set the table while the spaghetti made its way to al dente (Italian way of saying not soggy) in the bubbling water.

Once the pasta was cooked, it was on to cooking the mussels.

Our version of Robin's mum's mussel pasta recipe

30 grams butter
6 cloves of garlic
1 onion (I used a medium brown onion. Robin's mum uses a red onion or shallotts)
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
4 stems of thyme
1.5 teaspoons lemon zest
mussels (quantity depends on the catch but let's say this is around 1kg)
1 cup white wine
1 tin tomatoes

(If you want to eat the mussels with spaghetti, cook the pasta just before beginning cooking the mussels. Drain the spaghetti in a colander and place a lid on top to keep it warm)

In a large heavy based pot with a lid, melt butter over medium heat and saute onion and garlic til onion is soft.

Add in wine, tomatoes, thyme and mussels, turn heat up to high and place lid on. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer until mussel shells open (about 6-8 minutes), discard any that don't open.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the parsley and lemon zest.

(If you want to reduce the liquid you can remove the mussels once they open and turn the heat up to reduce the 'soup')

To serve put the spaghetti in bowls, place mussels on top and then pour the mussel soup over the top of the spaghetti.

We used a delicious Italian gluten free pasta that I hadn't tried before, it held its shape like wheat pasta a shame about the carbon footprint though coming all the way from Italy!

You can skip the pasta and just enjoy them as a mussel soup served with your favorite bread to mop up the juice.

A bonus recipe

I have another recipe here for cooking mussels from an anonymous friend :) anonymous to you but not to me. I am urging her to write a blog but she tells me she is shy. Shy is the last word that those who know and love her would use to describe her. I've had her recipe tucked away for over a year to share with you finally here it is.

My friend says, "This recipe changes every time I make it. I tend to cook by taste and smell, so don't really have specific measurements…although the garlic is about right.  The more of that the better!  Also the mussels are usually caught fresh and no idea of weight, so as many or few as you like to add to the brew really!"

1.5-2kg fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

2 tins tomatoes or equivalent in brewed down freshies from the garden

1 cup or more of fish stock

½ cup water

a glug (maybe ¼ cup??!) of White wine (always chose good white wine for cooking…if you wouldn't drink it by the glass, then don't use it in cooking!!)

6 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

1-2 large bunches flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Splodge of fish sauce (optional)

Splash of olive oil

Large saucepan with a lid

To cook: 

heat olive oil in the saucepan and saute garlic and onion.  Add tomatoes, stock, water, wine, fish sauce and let it come to the boil and then drop heat to let it simmer…preferably for up to an hour.  Around 10 minutes before ready to serve, include the parsley in the brew.  Once parsley settled in, bring back to the boil and toss mussels in and put lid on!  It will take no more than 2 minutes for the mussels to be cooked, but keep checking and when the majority are open, it's time to serve.  Ladle some soup and mussels in shells into bowls and serve…preferably with crusty bread to dip :-)

Thank you friends xx

(sorry the photo is less than fantastic. I think I have to rig up some lighting specifically for taking shots at dinnertime... and as much as I love my trusty Canon point and shoot camera I have started research to upgrade, both for your benefit and mine ;)

my kitchen rules

This post has nothing to do with the television program of the same title, it was just a sneaky way for me to name the post and veer slightly off topic and on to the mysterious knack of keeping house with children who are still learning the 'house rules'.

I have a friend who I admire, we'll call her D, D has an almost magical ability to keep her home in impeccable order without it feeling clinical or uninviting. In fact it is just the opposite, her home is aesthetically beautiful and the order imbues it with a sense of calm making it a warm and welcoming space to be in. She has two sons under the age of 7 and you can arrive unannounced day or night and order reigns supreme.

I marvel about her to other friends "I have this friend who..." and those friends say "oh but she must spend her whole day cleaning and tidying".

I recently came clean (pardon the pun) and asked D her secret. She laughed that I wanted to know and then happily filled me in.

I thought her answer may interest you too (sorry to those who couldn't care!) I am always curious about how other people 'do' life and am eternally searching for better ways to do things myself.

D says, "I can't think clearly if the space around me is disorganised. I am just one of those people who needs things to be ordered. And no I definitely don't spend all day cleaning up".

I suggested that really all people probably function best when their space is ordered but it is the how to make that happen that is a mystery to many, especially when you have professional house messer upperers (children) to derail your order.

Here is D's strategy:

Get rid of stuff. Regularly - "less stuff = less to organise, put away, tidy etc;"
Storage - "a place for everything and everything in its place"
Morning ritual - "washing goes on as soon as I get up. Beds are made as soon as everyone is up"
Dishes - "I never let them stack up. I let them drip dry but I wash them as we go."
Toys - "I have taught my boys to clean as they go. They pack up one game before they start the next."

Sounds pretty simple, yes? Or no?

Something else occurred to me about D's secret to success: her sense of style. D has a great eye for putting things together. Some people have a natural flair for this. I'm not entirely convinced that it comes naturally to me, and I used to think that putting a lot of time and effort into how things look was er dare I say, superficial.

I've changed my mind. Creating a home that is aesthetically pleasing is not superficial, there is an organic way to go about that too by seeking out recycled furniture and fabrics rather than buying new. And because of my perfectionist tendencies I've been slow to learn that it takes time to master things, even your own sense of style and it is ok to ask for help from those you admire.

How are you at keeping house? Are you in a happy space? Or couldn't care about that pile of dishes?

11 (wholefood) tips for supporting grieving loved ones

Two of my beautiful friends are grieving following the deaths of people they love. I have unintentionally become an 'expert' on the topic of grief and how to offer support, not through a university degree but through the experience of having five significant family members die when I was aged between 18 and 23 (my great grandmother, my mum, my brother, my uncle and my grandmother). Experiencing so much loss early in my life has of course been painful and sad but through my loss and grief I have experienced many riches too, such as a clearer perspective about what really matters.

After having a cup of tea with one of my friends who is in the depths of raw new grief I started to think about the ways to support people who are grieving and I remembered ways that people supported me. Making food and sharing food is a very obvious and practical way of showing your love and support to someone who is grieving, especially to someone who is having to find a way to keep their family life going while feeling broken hearted.

If you have someone in your life who is grieving and you want to support them but don't really know how here are my tips with some wholefood ideas in the mix:

1. Acknowledge the person's loss. It sounds so simple but it means so much. "I am really sorry to hear that your......has died" or write it in a card. Avoiding the person because you don't know what to say is not helpful. If they cry when you speak to them its ok, you didn't upset them, the tears were already there.

2. Offer to do their grocery shopping for them or just arrive with a bag of groceries.

3. Make a pot of soup or some meals that can be frozen. Soup is soothing and nourishing, and it is easy to eat and digest which is important when appetite is low and digestion is unsettled which can be a part of grief.

4. Organise a meals roster among friends and provide cooked meals for a few weeks.

5. Deliver a fruit bowl to your friend, it is both nourishing and visually beautiful.

6. Offer to mind their children so that they can have some space just to be with their feelings.

7. Offer to do school drop offs and pick ups. Chatting at the school gate may be the last thing a grieving parent feels like doing.

8. Bake a wholesome cake or batch of biscuits.

9. A selection of herbal teas makes a thoughtful gift, camomile is of course a good choice as is valerian to help with sleep.

10. Put together a care pack that includes a candle, lavendar oil (sometimes it is difficult to sleep when grieving a few drops on a pillow can help), a beautiful soap, a purse pack of tissues or a handkerchief and perhaps a journal for some writing if your friend likes writing.

11. Grief is not time limited. The intensity of the feelings lessen over time but the loss remains. Be mindful that your friend may have new waves of grief around anniversaries, birthdays and Christmas. A small gift or a card, or making time for a cup of tea at these times means a lot.

If you have suggestions to add to this list please do in the comments. And to all those who are in the midst of grief, go gently for as long as you need to. xxx

salad love

We left the coast for a day and headed inland to farewell friends who are moving north with their young family to live on acreage and change the pace of their days.

At our friend's farewell bbq I enjoyed being in the kitchen (of course!) cutting watermelon for hot and hungry children and picking up a few new salad ideas.

The first salad is my friend Steph's yummy creation and the second one is her mum's. Both salads are cooling and crunchy, making the most of beautiful seasonal ingredients such as asparagus and cucumber.

It's sad when friends move away, and at the same time exciting that they are following their dream. 

And also exciting that we have a new holiday destination! 

Enjoy! xx

Asparagus and goats cheese salad

1 iceberg lettuce, washed and roughly chopped or torn

1 bunch asparagus, blanched and chopped into bite size pieces

1 avocado, diced

1 green apple, diced

1 small beetroot, grated

1 jar Meredith Dairy Marinated Goat's Cheese including the oil

Apple cider vinegar

Place lettuce in salad bowl and top with asparagus, avocado, apple and beetroot.

Using a fork, gently break up the goats cheese in the jar.

Scatter the goats cheese across the salad and pour enough oil from the jar over the salad as the dressing, include the herbs in the bottom of the jar.

Splash a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar onto the salad.

Lightly toss the salad (over tossing will result in a completely purple salad thanks to the beetroot).

Cucumber and dill salad

4-5 lebanese cucumbers

2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (or more if you prefer)

Juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper

sour cream or natural unsweetened yoghurt

Using a grater slice the cucumbers into ribbons (you can do this with a knife if your grater doesn't have a ribbon option, the slices need to be really fine though).

Place into a salad bowl and pour lemon juice over to cover and season with salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle dill over and then add enough sour cream or yoghurt to coat the cucumber.

Toss all together. So simple.

when bloggers meet

We are still enjoying our Byron Bay bliss. On Sunday I asked our dear friend David, who we stay with each year, if I could invite some friends over for a chai, "They're coming up from Bellingen and staying in Mullum". In his usual generous and gracious way he said,"Sure that's fine". I added, "There's one detail that I have to tell you and that is, I've never met them before". We both cracked up laughing and when the laughter settled, "They're your friends and you've never met them before?" he quizzed me. "We met online. Jay is a blogging friend," I explained.

And so. It happened! The super lovely Jay whose blog and the trees was one of the first to capture my undivided daily attention came to visit with her beautiful family. Before they arrived I confessed to my friend Ruth that I was feeling a bit nervous. But I needn't have been nervous Jay, Scott, Poe and Ilo were every bit as delightful in real life as they are online. They arrived with warm smiles and hugs, nuts and berries and rhubarb grown in Bellingen. We settled on to blankets on the lawn, drank chai and chatted while the children played tug-of-war and ran around playing ball.

I was first drawn into Jay's blog by her photos, her sense of humour and the warmth that she conveys in  her posts. Jay and Scott made the move with their children Poe and Ilo from Sydney to Bellingen 16 months ago and I admired that because in time moving north is on Pete and my wishlist too. Coupled with the fact that I have great memories of Bellingen from a time Pete and I spent there about seven years ago, Jay's blog has all the ingredients to keep me happily reading along.

On Monday morning when I was sifting through the photos my friend Michael had snapped of Jay and I (just look past my current hairstyle that is an unintended cross between Farrah Fawcett and Suzi Quatro), my friend Ruth wandered in and we sat looking at photos and chatting about blogs. Ruth is mama to one year old twins and was there with her family to meet Jay, Scott, Ilo and Poe. Ruth is not a blogger I showed her and the trees and she said "ooooh isn't it beautiful. I can see how you can fall in love with a family you've never met!"

fill your cup

Six women, a newborn, a toddler and a preschooler, we gathered in a local cafe by the sea for morning tea to celebrate a friend's birthday. The gathering started and ended with tears, not from the children, from the mothers. That's how it is sometimes when we women get together. Over coffee, chai and decadent housemade lamingtons standing tall covered with chocolate icing and shredded coconut, we talked, shared, remembered, laughed and cried. My friend Luci and I say its not a catch up unless one of us cries. And then through tears we crack up laughing at ourselves. 

An hour or almost two spent together at a long wooden table, our chatter ranged from children starting school, new leather carry bag show and tell, to making cheese, milking goats, making bread, marvellous mother in laws, numerology, technology, television, cookbooks, Byron Bay, healing cancer, babysitting, massage...and it was time for me to leave and head back to my day with Sol. Thanks ladies for filling me up with your friendship and stories. And that goes for you online ladies too my new friends whose words and pictures I think of at various mummy moments in the day, when I'm washing the dishes, planning a story in my head, working out what to cook for dinner, dashing out the door to do the school run. It fills me up to know we're all in this together.

flourless mandarine cake

River requested I make Mette's apple pie to take for dessert when we were having dinner at a friend's house on Saturday night. I had only two apples and there were no more organic apples to be found in Sorrento on Saturday morning.

I couldn't justify the 25km round trip to the organic farm so I thought about what was in the fruit bowl. Lemons aplenty meant lemon tart was an option, but we took that last time and I'm happy it was off the list because I would never have made this sublime flourless mandarine cake.

With 7 mandarines, almond meal, Billington's unrefined caster sugar, 6 eggs and a teaspoon of baking powder we had a simple and deliciously seasonal dessert to share and enjoy. 

Flourless mandarine cake


Ingredients


7 small or 4 large mandarines
250 grams almond meal
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 eggs


To make


Grease a 22cm springform tin
Preheat oven to 170C
Place mandarines (skin on) in a saucepan and cover with boiling water, gently boil until soft
Drain mandarines, cut in half (as pictured above) and de-seed 
Puree mandarines with skin on in a food processor or blender. Allow to cool.
In a mixing bowl combine almond meal, sugar and baking powder
In a separate bowl beat eggs until pale and fluffy
Fold eggs into dry ingredients with mandarine puree
When all ingredients are combined pour into tin
Bake for 50-60 minutes

For the syrup

Juice two mandarines and save the peel from one
Slice peel into long fine strips and boil in water until soft (5-7 minutes)

In a small saucepan combine 3/4 cup caster sugar, mandarine juice and peel. Simmer gently until sugar dissolves and syrup thickens.

Using a skewer pierce top of cake to allow syrup to run into cake. Spoon syrup and rind over.

Serve with cream or ice cream.

bloomin' lovely

These blooms have graced my benchtop this week. The bunch was put together and delivered to my door last sunday by the very talented Melanie Stapleton whom I hadn't seen for five long years! Once upon a time Mel and I shared a house or two. It was lovely to see her in my neighborhood. The flowers too are lovely so I wanted to share them and a link to Mel's beautiful world of flowers at Cecilia Fox

I do miss sharing a house with Mel and coming home to find impromptu displays of flowers all over the house - including the bed side tables of all housemates, what a treat to find fresh flowers by your bed!

From flowers and friendship to ...chocolate cake. Of course. I am dreaming of baking this chocolate cake this weekend, in fact I can feel a whole post dedicated to favourite chocolate cake recipes coming up.

Any baking happening in your house this weekend? Or Easter creations? Time to pull out the Easter bun recipes. More about that next week. Until then, happy weekend to each of you.