We were treated to a wonderful feast at Tracey and David’s yesterday, including Tracey’s delicious apple and berry crumble.
Their friend and neighbour Bruce baked a gramma pie – something new to me, but apparently a traditional Australian dish. Gramma is a form of squash akin to pumpkin, but I have no idea what one looks like. I’ve tried the search engines, but typing “Gramma” into Google Images just produces photos of little old ladies. If anyone knows of a photo online, could you please let me know?
Bruce’s pie was delicious – puff pastry around a sweet filling of mashed gramma, raisins and a secret ingredient or two that he wasn’t divulging (hmmm…dried peel? ginger?).
Bruce and Kathleen also provided rocket (arugula) for the salad bowl from their prized no-dig garden, which was absolutely packed with produce, and surrounded by netting to keep out delinquent possums. In just the small section you can see below, they had garlic, rhubarb, bok choy and beets bursting out of the ground. Astonishing when you consider that it’s the final few weeks of winter here in Australia!
Tracey and David’s sons have some amazing stick insects, hatched from seeds they’d been given by the CSIRO. These fascinating creatures looked exactly like leaves – they’d be almost impossible to find in the bush. Here’s a young male, pretending to be leaf litter…
and a discarded skin, shed as the insect grew too large for it.
Tracey and David live on the Central Coast – a gorgeous part of the world at any time, but particularly so on an unseasonably warm and sunny winter’s day. It was an easy two hour drive out of Sydney and we passed some stunning water views of Lake Macquarie on the way. Definitely worth a trip if you haven’t been before!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thanks for making the trek – we had a lovely day, too. You’re all so generous – from food to Romertopfs to undeserved compliments – but thanks for the encouragement!! Yes the boys really enjoyed having the boys visit (and J enjoyed the cheese, perhaps a little too much!).
I notice David has assembled some Romersagne ingredients so we will await the result……..
It was a magnificent spread, Tracey. I just wish I’d thought to take a photo of the garlic lamb, or the couscous, or the homemade hummus, or David’s delicious bbq’d eggplant…but I was too busy stuffing my face. :)
Next time we’ll bring two lots of mascarpone reale – one for you and one for Kathleen.. :)
Thanks again for having us!
Celia xx
HI,
this might help with the GRAMMA mystery..
Cheers Moo
Botanical Family:
CUCURBITACEAE
Common Name:
GRAMMA
Genus:
Cucurbita
Species:
moschata
About the Name:
cucurbita means gourd in Latin; and moschata “musk-scented”
Origins:
When the Spaniards colonized the Americas, the Calabaza squash, a kind of gramma, was ordinary in Central America and the north of South America but virtually unknown elsewhere. Today it is common in all tropical places. It is very popular in Japan; in the USA it is the major ingredient of the famous Thanksgiving pie.
Plant Description:
Butternuts, grammas and trombones are in this group and will cross with one another. This group of pumpkins can be distinguished from the other three main groups of pumpkins because the leaves often have white patches; the stems of the fruits are smooth, five-angled and flared towards the fruit; and the small seeds are long and thin, not as plump as those of members of C. maxima, such as the Queensland Blue (see Pumpkin). Grammas tolerate higher temperatures than pumpkin and squash (C. pepo). C. mixta was previously classified as C. moschata but is now a species on its own. Its grey, gritty seeds are ridged around the edges. Some of the Japanese pumpkins are in this group.
Variety Notes:
Look for Tahitian Squash, American Cheese types, trombones, grammas and butternuts of many shapes, tastes and textures. Many Queensland farmers have kept a preferred strain of gramma alive as an integral part of their culture. Fodder gramma has a large cavity with plenty of seeds and these, along with mulberry leaves, seem to relieve intestinal worm problems in horses.
Moo, that’s very interesting! I should have known you’d know. I’m still not sure how they look – have you got a link to a photo somewhere? I think they look like a long, stretched out butternut – is that right?
Thanks, Celia