Twig Cafe

I'm a big fan of Petersham Nurseries. It's one of those treat places that you go when you're feeling a bit flat and you're in need of some countryside and cake. Whilst its predominately a garden centre, the choice is a lot better than your average, and it has lots of ethnic wood, funky bulbs and nice welly boots to offer, as well as talks and of course the wonderful food from Skye Gyngell in the restaurant that has to be booked months in advance to get a sniff at a table. I've often dreamed of starting my own food and plant combo, two of my favourite things.

The boys at Garden Life in Surry Hills have done just that. Inspired by Petersham, they have a stylish little shop with a great cafe out the back. Its inside/outside which helps with the weather we're having at the moment and seems always to be buzzing, which is nice. Not many cows though, but I suppose you can't have everything!

GARDEN LIFE

357 CLEVELAND STREET

SURRY HILLS

NSW 2016

TEL 02 8399 0666

Christmas pudding

This year, for the first time ever, I made my own Christmas pudding. Hardly remarkable to most, but when you consider that it was only about 2 years ago that I learned to cook scrambled egg, I'm very proud of my achievement - even though its not perfect, as the picture shows! I had a lot of fun though, chopping and mixing and I felt a bit like Bridget Jones trying to find string that wasn't coloured, to bind the lid before steaming it for 3 hours.

Previously I bought my puddings from either Harvey Nichols, or the wonderful pudding lady at Borough, although she hasn't been there the last few times I've been and I'd love to know what happened to her. Although I'm sure there is somewhere, I haven't found anywhere yet in Sydney that makes puddings that are big enough for my family, who adore pudding.

There are a zillion recipes online, and mine came from here. I'm planning to make brandy butter to go with it too.

I shan't bother with mince pies because they are cheaper to buy in Woolworth's!

Santa's grotto in Sydney

Making mince pies wearing a bikini is all very lovely, but I think its natural to miss home at certain times of the year, especially Christmas. London does Christmas so very well - twinkly lights, indulgent shopping trips to Liberty and Fortnums, and this year even crisp weather and snow.

Its a rainy Tuesday and after too many cups of tea, I decided to take a walk to Redfern and visit the Seasonal Concepts shop, run by the very talented Ken Wallis.

The shop's motto is 'delight the eye, cheer the heart' and my, how it does! Stepping into the shop was like entering Toyland with a (very young) santa, sitting behind the desk at the far end next to a full size giraffe. A massive Christmas tree, filled with vintage glass decorations, brings back memories of a childhood, I wish I'd had if only plastic hadn't been invented! Roses, peacock plumes, dolls and other Christmassy paraphernalia sit on a long table, with jumbled up seating, just like you'd have at home if only you could. And a wonderful modern tree made with knitting needles and balls of wool shows you that you can create something fabulous with a bit of imagination. Something Ken has in sackloads!

Seasonal Concepts

122 Redfern Street

Redfern 2016

02 8399 2435

And... breathe...!

It's been a while since I posted and I thought I might pop in and explain why. With the excuse that my elderly father is coming over from the UK for Christmas, and what was I going to do with him in Sydney, let alone with all those stairs in the Surry Hills house, I've rented a little somewhere special on the northern beaches for a couple of months.

And oh, how lovely it is to be back! I feel sane again. There are birds popping in for morning visits (M calls me Dr Doolittle), dolphins, morning runs and swims. I'm cooking and I feel inspired again. I even managed to do some writing work (unofficially of course) last week for a event concept and it was one of my best evers, even if I do say so myself!

M is coming up after work on his gorgeous motorbike on days that he doesn't have his children. And I've got space from them all when I don't want to be part of somebody else's family. Hooray!

All things bright and beautiful

This is a totally biased blog but I'm so in love with this shop that I had to brag about it! My new but already very dear friend, Nic has opened a fabulous new shop on Bronte Road, called 'Better World Arts'. She asked me to help her last week with setting up the shop, and I had a wonderful few days wallowing in all kinds of gorgeous things and being allowed to play.

The name suggests perfectly what she stocks, which is everything fair trade, thereby allowing you to shop with a continence. She could very well have called it The Happiness Store - with all that eye-popping candy on the walls in pinks and oranges, blues and greens. There are original paintings by well known, and not-so, aboriginal artists. There are also rugs and textiles produced in collaboration with artists and weavers. Also baskets and bright hand painted jewels, along with hanging space for perfectly formed Christmas decorations. Prices are more Waverley than Woollahara. In fact, all my christmas shopping done in one hit. Can't say fairer than that!

Better World Arts

254 Bronte Road (next to the Post Office)

Waverley 2024

Sculpture by the Sea

Already rather stunning, my morning run has been elevated somewhat this week, firstly by the sighting of wales and also by the installation of Sculpture by the Sea which opens on Thursday. Each day, I've watched the artists and dig little coffin squares of turf, and lovingly begin to place their pieces, either by hand, or by crane as I saw this morning.

There are still many half installed, which I didn't photograph, but it was lovely to meet some of the artists, watching their works come to fruition.

I think the concept is such a good one which could be adapted for many locations, including the not so glamorous.

What a tart!

Ottolenghi Cafes are like high-end fashion stores. They are all white with the odd bit of abstract wall art and staffed by the perfectly formed whose body shapes confirm that they have never even licked one of the perfect meringues that they sell, piled high on the countertop. There are loads and loads of big white bowls with delicious exotic salads, salmon wrapped in delicate tissue pastry and passion fruit cakes that whisper your name when you go in to buy your mellow latte (in a white cup). Often I’ve tried to emulate the broccoli, chill and flaked almonds but never succeeded to get it just right.

Yotam Ottolenghi writes a column for the Guardian on a Saturday, with a vegetarian slant. He’s kindly packaged his recipes up in a (white) book so that now I can try with more success. M unkindly said that the food in the pictures looked like the top of your rubbish bin when you take off the lid. They are all messy and deliciously half-eaten-looking. I don’t care, I love food like that, and Mr. Ottolenghi’s book, 'Plenty', has remained on the kitchen table permanently.

I’ve tried lots of the offerings. They’ve all come out perfectly, although some of the ingredients required are not your average. They are often a tiny bit fiddly, including the caramelized garlic tart, which I made yesterday, which took about 2 hours. Mr. Ottolenghi claims that this is the most delicious tart ever. He isn’t lying. I made mine in a massive frilly pie tin and it’s all gone now. I’m not going to bother typing up the recipe because I think you should go and buy the book so you can make lots of fabulous bin food.

Toy shop for foodies

Now that Spring has gone all summery, my food thoughts have moved to light, fluffy things, ideally that I can cook and the children can scoff when they get home from school without too much mess.

I had my eye on a tart, which required a large, frilly edged pan, and so I had chance to go down to Chefs Warehouse again to purchase. I love this store. Its stuffed full of amazing things that you never thought you’d ever need but surely I could just make room for some pastry trays? Or what about the paella tin the size of my living room? Not only does it sell tools, but also carries a small amount of specialist but of course essential ingredients such as pomegranate molasses, and smoked paprika.

Chefs Warehouse, 111-115 Albion Street, Surry Hills 2010 Tel +61 2 9211 4555

Dolphins

Saturday began as one of those perfect days. It was sunny and warm - about 27 degrees. We went north to look at a house for the summer, which was called 'Dolphin View'. The name turned out to be rather apt as out on Pittwater on our boat shortly afterwards, we were joined by a pod of about 8 dolphins. We were just about to pull out of the Heads and there they were, about a metre from the front of the boat swimming alongside us. I frantically scrabbled for my phone to take some pictures but with my excited finger right over the lens, most are unclear. I wished I could have recorded their sound which was amazing. What a treat and hopefully a sign as we're taking the house.

Apparently its very rare to see them in Pittwater - I can find records of sightings about 8 years ago. About an hour later, a big storm came in so perhaps they were seeking shelter.

Mad Men or rather Bad Men

There are many good things about Australia, but in general, I think advertising is not one of them. Unfortunately, most things incite a groan or at best, hysterical laughter, due to its badness - there is one at the moment which involves a woman remaining in a dentist chair all day to promote that 'feeling' - which always reduces me to giggles.

Here is yet another pointless ad which is supposedly selling orange juice, but it could well be petrol for the relevance of the ad. What a total waste of hoarding space!

Mitchell Road Antiques

Lazy Saturday 'doing' markets. Orange Grove in Lilyfield, followed by coffee in Rozelle (sitting next to Cate Blanchett, who is utterly gorgeous). On the way home, we stopped at Mitchell Road Antiques. Two floors of warehouse, stuffed with antiques from all eras. The top floor operates as a shop, with better quality and more expensive, stock. The lower level runs as a silent auction between Saturday and Tuesday, and we rooted around amongst fascinating pieces of old Australiana. M found the exact china of his family childhood, and we came away with a fabulous deckchair for our roof garden.

Royal National Park

Another jolly Sunday out on the motorbike. This time down to the Royal National Park, just south of the city. This park is so big it goes for miles and we barely scratched the surface. We ended up in a little beach town called Bundeena which, as the crow flies, is not that far from the city across the water. We joined an art walk along the coast and stumbled across a herd of deer, which I realise is unusual for Australia. The park was apparently run by a trust who released the captive deet in the late 1800's and they are now running riot, eating their way through fauna and rubbish bins.

The journey back was interesting as torrential rain made us stop many times for cups of tea, but we ended up back, soaked to the skin for the second time in a week.

Bright sparks

So, Spring... here one day, gone the next. I've put some shots of colour into my kitchen to keep me happy when the sun doesn't shine.

Graffiti

There's lots of graffiti close to where we live. I love it. I think its great that people are so bursting with colour and ideas that they want to put it about. I particularly like it when its just a little bit different. Or clever. This one could just as easily be a sign for a business which would make it a cool business. You certainly wouldn't miss it

What a difference a week makes

I've been meaning to visit the shop, the Society Inc, belonging to esteemed stylist and author, Sibella Court for a while now. Its everything I had hoped for, delicious things crammed into a tiny space filled with light and I came out smelling of gardenias and full of inspiration. For some reason, perhaps because its housed in a corner shop, I thought of the Cross in Holland Park but more in terms of vibe than contents. Its located in a residential street in Paddington, and I parked my car under a gorgeous tree, stuffed with pink flowers, which I think is a magnolia.

I've spent the week devouring Sibella Court's book, Etc which has opened my eyes to clutter in the nicest possible sense.

Grafitti(2)

Here's another local one which made me smile.

The world is full of interesting things

Not much blogging of late - mostly because I've been thinking about what's next and plans are afoot - more later. Meanwhile, here is something lovely to play with. Its a collection by Creative Lab of all things clever around the world, found on Google. Give it a chance to download, and curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy!

London Design Festival

Naturally I'm gutted to have missed the LDF this year, being so far away and all that. I'm a bit biased, having been involved a while back, but I think its one of the drivers in demonstrating Britain's designs talents and has set London way up front of any other city in terms of design. Luckily they have been very proactive on social media and I've been able to see lots of the highlights. Including this, featuring two of my favourite people, Jon Snow sitting in one of Thomas Heatherwick's spun chairs.

Camping trip on the Hawkesbury

The weather is warming up and despite the occasional downpour, the temperatures have been in the mid 20's for the past few weeks. We thought it was about time we went on the camping trip we had talked about endlessly. So, after an expensive shopping trip to Anaconda, which had more camping stuff than I have ever seen, including chest freezers, full blown camping kitchens and shower cubicles, we were off.

We took the boat across Broken Bay and up the Hawkesbury River. We stopped for oysters at Brooklyn (still too big Clare) and onwards, upstream. The palm trees and rocky forests disappeared, and the river became wider as the surroundings became open fields and flood plains. We felt very small in our little boat on the big expanses of water, as we eventually hit Wiseman's Ferry, where we had been on the bike, a week or so back. I turned my nose up at swimming in the river water, which had by now, lost the peacock green of the sea and was filled with the big fat, (albeit harmless) jellyfish that we had been visited by last summer. So we went back down to a small hamlet called Spencer, where we moored for the night.

After a dinner of prawns, grilled on our new $9 stove, we clamped a mozzy net over the back of the boat, to avoid sharing it with big hairy spiders, and snuggled down in our sleeping bags - to watch the star constellations on M's iPad.

Waking up to the sound of kookaburras and an early morning swim, has been worth the pain of the head cold that I've enjoyed all week.

We've talked about this for ages and as the weather is warming up, we took the boat from Pittwater, across Broken Bay and up the Hawkesbury River where we went a couple of weeks ago on the bike. It was interesting to see how the landscape changed the further away from the sea we went - opening up onto big flood plains and expanses of water. We were joined by the big jelly fish that were in Pittwater last autumn, so I wasn't that keen to swim until we got back down. We moored in a little hamlet and cooked fresh prawns on our new $9 camping grill. Having clamped a mozzy net over the back with bulldog clips to keep the spiders out, we snuggled in our sleeping bags and checked out the stars above on M's ipad app and fell asleep by 8pm.

We woke up soaking wet which probably explains the stinker of a cold I've developed since. However the sounds of kookaburras laughing was worth it.

Elizabeth / Rushcutters Bays

Back on my walks trail, I was aiming for Rushcutters Bay, but took a wrong turn and found myself parked outside Elizabeth Bay House. Rather bizarrely, the road runs directly in front of the house, with a pretty park opposite. Having got home though and discovered the house's history, (champagne lifestyle, beer income), I'm going to go back and check it out in more detail - especially the grotto in the garden which looks amazing.

The area is Italian slash Holland Park and lots of nubile young things lounging around on patches of grass in their bikinis - or even topless, a bit risque perhaps for inner city bays.

I eventually made it round to Rushcutters and remembered I had been here before - my brother's wedding week included chartering yachts from the yacht club here. Not much of a walk and as the park is being refurbed, not much to see, but a sunny day, and the smell of sea salt made me yearn to get back to Pittwater. A bit longer me thinks so mussels for dinner will have to suffice.

The Soup Dragon (pea and courgette)

I know, I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front for the past week or so. It was my godson's 5th birthday, so I've been down with his mother on the Mornington Peninsular, cooking chocolate cake and beating boys at the wii machine. I'm exhausted. Now back in Sydney and trying to get back to my routine of walks and trying to settle into normal life, just as soon as I can.

One thing that has developed into a routine of late is my weekly making of soup. I think I mentioned a few weeks back that M and I are both on a bit of a health kick. To be frank, we haven't done too well - or rather I haven't, as M eats whatever he is given. I found all the hippy beans too much to do first thing and so I've now taken to making two big vats of soup a week which will serve us both for lunch. M gets to choose one, which makes him happy, and it usually involves meat. For me, I like the light, summery soups and I thought I'd care and share mine with you as I go.

This week, we're having pea and ham soup for him and pea and courgette soup for me. (I still refuse to call it zucchini, and I've managed to persuade the boy to eat aubergine, because he didn't realise it was eggplant which he hates...)

I think of my sister when I'm making this as she usually has a few tonnes of courgettes knocking about from her allotment, so if you can't find any, give her a buzz!

Pea and courgette soup

3 tbsp olive oil

4 courgettes, chopped up roughly

salt and pepper

3 cloves of garlic

few sprigs of thyme

1 ltr of stock - supposedly chicken but I used vegetable

1 small bag of peas, defrosted

Few squirts of lemon juice

Creme fraiche if you are lucky enough as I can't find it here so I use cream

Directions:

In a large saucepan or pot over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, 7 to 10 minutes.

Add the courgette and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the stock or broth, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat; set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth, processing in batches if necessary. When ready to serve, return the soup to the pan, place over low heat and cook just until warmed through. Do not boil. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Wisemans Ferry

No walking this weekend. Instead the perfect weather on Saturday pushed us onto the big white beast and into the hills for a day out. Wisemans Ferry was our destination, which turned out to be a car ferry across the Hawkesbury, about an hour inland.

After a few hours riding through dust tracks and flood plains filled with sunshine and wallabies, we reached St Albans. Just short of the village we found a cemetery filled with the graves of early settlers dated in the mid 1800's, all apparently called Elizabeth or John bizarrely. The fact that most of them reached their '80s, suggested that they might have lived a slightly healthier life up here than in Sydney, or London where most of them started.

St Albans turned out to be a little settlers town with a pub that could easily have been in a country village like Kent. We shared a ploughmans and ended up as fielders for a village cricket match which was fired by more sharp wit than runs and very entertaining.

The drive back through the Forgotten Valley was spectacular and worth the pain of freezing fingers after the sun had set.