The last tomato

Could this be Melbourne's last tomato?

Being strictly of the seasonal food camp, it has greatly amused me that my tiny courtyard garden has proven to be so unseasonal this year.

When everyone else was experiencing bumper crops of tomatoes, my heirloom bushes barely had a flower and the fruit that did eventuate died in our desert like heat wave of 40+ degree temperatures.

And now when I should have pulled out the dying vine months ago (but I held out hope for this tiny slowly growing tomato), I have this a gorgeous Black Zebra tomato, my last.

As you can see from the first picture, the vine is totally dead apart from the one stem holding on to my tomato, just grown in a pot in my sunny courtyard in St Kilda.

Weird unseasonal stuff huh!

Baked eggs at home

My non-stick pan is no longer non-stick which means that a quick brekkie at home of eggs on toast, ends up in a mess of egg glued pan.

Keen for some eggs without the mess (or the queues on Easter weekend) I decided to bake some just like I order at a number of cafes around Melbourne.



Baked eggs with double smoked ham, potato and fennel
I made this from leftovers in my fridge, if you intend to do the same just make sure there are enough wet ingredients to dry ones.

2 eggs
2 slices ham
1 roast potato, sliced
4 mini roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 baby fennel, finely sliced, tips reserved
Meridith dairy feta and the marinating oil
S+P
toast to dip


Distribute the ham, potato, fennel and tomato in a shallow bowl, small baking dish or large tapas dish
Crack eggs on top and drizzle with feta, extra marinating oil and season with salt and pepper

Bake at 220C for about 10minutes until you can see the whites have set, yet the yolks are still runny, remove from oven and garnish with fennel tips
Perfect to eat just with a fork and toast to dip, whilst reading the paper (or news online, in my case)

Serves one

Home made (better than) chips

Five easy steps to chip success

1. take these gorgeous, addictive potatoes and boil too many a couple of days earlier

2. crush then with the palm of your hand, until they look all arty like this


3. drizzle with olive oil, heaps of Murry River salt, pepper and some thyme from the garden

4. bake on 220C until they are golden brown, crunchy on the outside and a creamy, fluffyness on the inside


5. try not to share too many!

A bit 'left', organic rolled oats

I've become a little more 'green' or 'left' orientated lately.

I intended to buy my usual Uncle Tobies traditional rolled oats at the supermarket (not Safeway, the other one) but I saw these on the top, difficult to reach shelf, and decided that I should buy them instead.

Makes a rich, risotto style porridge that with careful stirring teases out the sticky love from the oats and becomes nutty and stodgy. Great for a winter, warm-me and fill-me brekkie.

I had mine with gorgeous poached quince. Need a recipe?

Fancy a Feijoa?

What about a feijoa, lime zest and palm sugar jam?

You know it's fresh when...

Got to love organics, lucky I am not vegetarian!

Giant couscous salad

Correctly known as moghrabieh, yet I think giant couscous sounds more fun and needs less explaining. A style of couscous originating from Lebanon, these are much larger and are commonly cooked into brothy soups. I love that they are easy to prepare, textural to eat and look remarkably modern to serve.

Giant couscous salad with pinenuts, lemon zest and pomegranate

Moghrabieh -they swell to double the size so judge accordingly to how much you want as a finished salad

chicken stock (use vegetarian if you prefer)

toasted pinenuts

a lemon; zested and then juiced

pomegranate seeds

spanish onion

red chilli

mint

parsley

Extra virgin olive oil

S+P

Add the giant couscous to enough stock to cover and gently simmer until it is just cooked, a little al dente as the Italians would say is ideal

Drain and while still warm dress with 1/3 lemon juice to 2/3 EVOO, salt and pepper and the roughly chopped herbs

Add all the other ingredients and toss together, taste for extra lemon juice and serve at room temperature

Perfect for a balmy evening like last night.

Safeway tells fibs

"The only fresh baby corn in Australia", Safeways claim on a current television commercial

No, I don't shop at Safeway (unless it is for cheap Coopers)

The new ads on tv for Safeways baby corn make me furious, I am not usually this easily mad but when a multinational takes advantage of a dumbed down eating public, then I get mad. Don't get me wrong, I am sad that people are some what dumbed down about food now, but it is the truth, my great grandmother and grandmother cooked from memory, I don't know if my grandmother even owns a cook book; apart from the Aussie house wife classic "The Common Sense Cookery Book" (and doesn't that title just sum it up...) People now generally have very high food expectations and very low skills or basic knowledge to cook from, it is sad.

I digress, Safeway do not have Australia's only baby corn, I brought some this morning at Gasworks market, and to further thumb my nose at Safeway, I bet mine are fresher and not in unnecessary packaging.

I am still tossing up how to prepare mine, if I stop eating them raw. Perhaps sauteed with anchovies and then melting on top some butter, perhaps slightly pickled and served to nibble on, maybe even... its not important. The important thing is, please don't believe what Safeway tells you about food.

Jack

Eclectic produce this week

Fresh nuts are one of the most beautiful things, just like the almonds a few months ago, the flavours are delicate and colours bright. I am usually also surprised at how inexpensive they are, perhaps people don't understand how much of a special delicacy they are and how little time they are around for. These are brand named kiwi berries, essentially just that, mini kiwis with no fury skin, just pop them straight in your month, oh and incredibly cute!
The erratic weather has made my watercress go crazy, it's now trying to grow out of the base of the bay tree pot and into the wild of my untamed garden. Not enough yet for a salad, but a very pretty garnish or a grazing nibble while watering the herbs.
Enjoy the weather while it lasts!