Posted by kathryn in Blogging

I’m away at the moment. On holidays for two whole weeks.

This holiday is all about long days sitting in the garden reading and enjoying the sunshine.

Lots of walking, catching up on sleep.

Some kookaburra watching, trying to spy the dolphins each morning.

Maybe a couple of outings.

That’s about it.

Not sure what it tells you about me, but my bag of holiday books is about three times as heavy as the suitcase of clothes I brought . . .

Our holiday also includes good food. Of course. Salads in the garden at lunch time, then something cooked in the evening. When I say “good food” I’m not talking fancy or fussy, just simple, wholesome, quick cooking food.

For the first few days it felt like all my cooking knowledge had left, for its own holiday. Couldn’t think about what to make, how to use the ingredients I had. Couldn’t even decide what I felt like eating. Gone, fizzled out of my brain. But slowly, gradually it’s coming back. Helped along by some holiday food reading.

Close by there’s a farm which sells direct to the public. Last week I found the most beautiful bunch of beetroot I’ve ever seen, sugarloaf cabbage, plus fresh peas in their pod.

The beetroot was roasted in the oven, with olive oil, a smidgeon of balsamic and some dried oregano. The peas were podded and blanched, and then quickly sauteed in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil, some grated zucchini and fresh parsley. I’m still thinking about what to do with the cabbage.

Prior to coming away I’d been focussed on Spring food. What was in season, how to use the ingredients. Creating new food for the next edition of An Honest Kitchen. However while here I’ve found myself re-visiting the recipes from Winter. They are so familiar, and yet the few weeks distance means I’m seeing them with fresh eyes.

We’re having the spiced vegetable fritters for dinner this evening – and almost certainly lunch tomorrow – but down here I’m going to make them less spiced, more Mediterranean. Following Lucy’s suggestion I cooked the poached oranges for breakfast, instead of dessert. I’ve had the tahini dressing on other salads, rather than just the coleslaw. This week my mum sms-d to say they’d had the beef medallions with cauliflower and white bean mash for dinner and then spread the leftover mash on toast for lunch the next day. I’m going to have to try that.

So I’ve been cherry-picking the recipes. Taking an idea from one and trying it out with something new. Or adapting the recipe to the food and ingredients on hand. I’m having fun and we’re eating well.

Oh yes, and there are local rumours of orcas in the Bay. Imagine that!

Photographs by Rowen Atkinson and Tasumi1968

24 August, 2009