I know it looks like I’ve done nothing but bake bread for the past month, but that’s not the case. Here are a few snapshots from recent weeks…
From February to April, Taronga Zoo ran a fundraising campaign to support their Black Rhino breeding program. In a similar vein to the successful Gorilla campaign in Bristol (which my friends Joanna and Brian photographed and blogged about here), colourfully painted rhinos started popping up around Sydney…
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I’ve been baking faux brioche for Baby M, who packs it into her adorable little chipmunk cheeks as fast as she can. She’s the newest baby on our street, and Pete and I are completely smitten…
And speaking of Baby M, we recently spent a fabulous afternoon teaching her parents and grandparents how to make and fold dumplings. Didn’t they do a good job!
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I spotted this dried flower head on a banksia plant at PeteA’s house, and suddenly understood where the idea for May Gibbs’ banksia men had come from…
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I baked sourdough epis with points sharp enough to draw blood (or at least puncture holes in plastic storage bags)…
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We’ve recently discovered the cheap and cheerful Happy Snack in Flemington, which serves delicious Vietnamese dishes like these braised fish cutlets with cracked rice ($11)…
…noodle salad with spring rolls and pork ($9)…
…and generous bowls of beef brisket, served with a crunchy white roll to soak up the sauce (just $6!)…
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While we were in the area, we picked up a roast duck from our favourite barbecue shop…
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We attended an Easter service in town. Even in the midst of a torrential downpour, the magnificence of St Andrew’s Cathedral never fails to impress…
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If you live in or near Marrickville and aren’t buying your fish from Faros Brothers, then you’re probably paying too much. I picked up a large trout for just $18…
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In a brief moment of sunshine during a week of rainy days, we rushed out and harvested three of our four giant mutant pumpkins (we’re leaving the last one for seed)…
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Surplus sourdough starter and eggs never go to waste here – the boys inhale pancakes in huge quantities. Small Man ate twelve the last time I made them (and then followed up with half a dozen hot cross buns). Here’s the recipe…
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Our friends PeteV and Nic treated us to Spanish tapas for lunch…
PeteV finished the meal with a cortado coffee, which I believe is similar to a macchiato…
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Experimenting further with our sweet dough recipe, this brioche based pissaladière was very popular. It was topped with caramelised onions and anchovy fillets…
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Finally, I know I’m meant to ease off on the Römertopf evangelism, but I had to show you these before and after photos. The photo on the left is how the pot went into the dishwasher after roasting chicken, potatoes and stuffing. The photo on the right is how it came out the following morning (that’s all I’m going to say)…
What have you been up to this month? Anything exciting?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Lovely post Celia thank you for sharing sent you a twitter photo of my lasted bread http://wwwlindasgardenblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/my-third-attemp-at-bread-making.html
It looks great, Linda! :)
thank you for all your encouragement
I do love your ramblings Celia.
Have a wonderful day.
:-) Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy darling, you too xx
I’ll show Maus your photo but I still don’t like my chances :)
Glenda, I don’t either, but I’d feel bad if I didn’t at least make a pitch.. :D
Brand of your dishwasher, please?
Loved your ramblings – usually when I ramble not very many people are happy. (sigh)
Miele! But it’s the pot, not the dishwasher – all my other friends are putting theirs in as well and having them come out clean. I think from the comments below that the German made pots we get here are different from the Romertopfs in the US – the German ones are glazed on the inside, which means residue just washes straight off them!
Your ramblings are not like any others! Looks like you have had a great month despite being chained to the oven! I am torn between wanting to give Baby M a squeeze and wanting to devour that duck! I am off to track down a romertopf!
Selma, isn’t she just the cutest little poppet ever? The duck was delicious – it’s our default “takeaway” when things get too busy for me to think about dinner…
Glad to see your dishwasher is performing well. ;-). Now I see why I got rid of my clay pot and u love yours- yours has a lovely glaze. Might have to seek one out this summer at yard sales. When we were in Australia, I had just figured out that I wanted a flat white , when it was time to leave. We’ll be back someday for sure. And yes I believe your cortado is what we call a macchiato. Like that too. Especially in Italy. ;-). Love your breads. I accidentally threw out my starter. I thought it was the portion I wanted to discard. :-(. Oh well , will have to start again.
Mo
Yes, you’ve saved my dishwasher, and we’ve had to clean that valve a few more times since. Thanks again, Mo! :)
What a busy life you lead. I’m always envious of your food.
Hehehe…it’s actually quite a quiet life I lead. Compared to exploring the mummified saints of Italy! :D
I must get myself over to Faros Brothers. Your ramblings look like they taste good :) Since we returned after our Easter-ANZAC Day break, the big Chasseur cast iron pot has been in the oven each weekend. The season for slow cooking is upon us :)
ED, it’s been that sort of weather, hasn’t it? Bet your house smells wonderful with all that slow cooking!
The aroma of the roast Thirlmere chicken was almost torture, it was so chickeny!
You ramble beautifully and I love being able to tag along. This month we have a dog in our lives again, a lovely staffy cross cattle/kelpie called Wak (he’s white and black).
Jo, how nice for you! And I wanted to thank you again for the chocolate – it has SUCH an interesting flavour! I’ve been nibbling away at it in little squares with my cup of tea!
The dumplings look amazing! I’d love to have a lesson from you! So much delicious food in this post?
Thanks Clare! We had a really fun dumpling making session that day! :)
it all looks amazing celia..although i am biased towards loving your epis the most..x
Jane, thank you – they were SO sharp and pointy! One of the benefits of scissor-cutting, I think! :)
I notice that your Romertopf is glazed inside – mine (which was given to me many moons ago last century) isn’t. So I’m not sure I’d get the same result.
My point exactly. I got one as wedding gift decades ago and found it not worth the effort. Sold it in yard sale. Could never understand why Celia loved hers so much. Now I understand and will keep my eyes peeled.
Mo, I think the Romys sold in the US USED to be made in Mexico and were unglazed. The ones we get here are German made, which seems to be what’s available in the US now: http://www.romertopfusa.com/
Amanda, interesting to read Lizzy’s comment below about glazing – your pot must be very old! :)
Love the little tidbits, Celia… and I am in awe that you can put the R into the dishwasher… I read that in the instructions. Amazing. When I was selling cookware, they were no longer allowing unglazed products into the country Amanda. Might be worth checking that out.
Liz, thanks for that info, it’s very interesting! The glaze in the Romys is amazing, providing you don’t throw cold dough into a blazing hot pot like I did once (and cracked the glaze completely). :)
Mmm all those dishes from Flemington look really good! My tummy is rumbling now! :D
My shout when we go! :)
Okay, I’m going to go out and buy a Romertopf. I’m exhausted just looking at all of this – you must burn the candle at both ends. That little girl with those chipmunk cheeks is gorgeous but I’m very glad to have past the stage of wiping down high chairs. I love the look of the BBQ duck and how lovely to have been at St Andrew’s Cathedral for Easter – it is a stunning building xx
Charlie, I’m pretty glad not to have to wipe down highchairs as well.. :D
Loved your ‘ramblings’ . . . but most of all simply could not believe the prices at the Vietnamese restaurant in Flemington – those braised fish cutlets look really scrumptious and I would not have said ‘no’ to any of the others :) !
Eha, the prices are ridiculously cheap! :)
what wonderful ramblings!
….oh by the way. Is there a recipe for that delicious looking fish braised dish and how about the brioche with caramelized onions with anchovies? I would love to make it :)
Thank you! No idea on the braised fish, sorry, but the pissaladiere was made using some of our sweet dough recipe rolled out and topped with slow cooked onions (in butter with a dash of balsamic vinegar) and drained anchovy fillets. The whole thing was then baked. The sweet dough recipe is here, and we only just a portion of it (about a third, from memory):
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2014/04/26/bread-101-our-extremely-versatile-sweet-dough/
Thank you so much, the sweet dough recipe sounds like to be used for so many different recipies, it’s just up my alley to bake. :)
Oh my goodness Celia do boys really eat that much? I’m excited and scared by the thought! At least my baking will never go to waste. Now… must find a way to buy and hide one of those dishes. I could probably convince Will if I showed him this pic. He’s a fan of anything that goes in the dishwasher.
Claire, you have NO idea. Whenever I watch them eat, I wonder if I should worm them. :) Let Will know that most of our cookware purchases these days are dishwasher -driven as well, which is why I’m so happy with all the clay pots (R and Emile Henry) that we’ve bought in the past few years! No more cast iron for us! :)
And few months ago all I made was tarts and bread so I am spreading the recipe out so that it looks like I do other things! Lovely post Celia :)
Hahaha…so you can relate, Tandy! Thanks! :)
We had decorated cows in London and I have one of the small replica china ones, which is dressed as a Beefeater – a little less flamboyant than your rhino! Lots of good food and happy days going on :)
Anne, a cow dressed as a Beefeater! Bet it’s gorgeous AND ironic! :D
Hi Celia, I had to read again the number of pancakes that small man ate!:) Goodness $6.00, that is ridiculously cheap! Faros is 5 minutes from my parents, I haven’t been for such a long time will have to pay a visit. We usually go to the fish markets as it’s convenient but it’s certainly not cheap. The meat that you cook in the Romertopf always looks so good and it seems so easy to cook in and clean, if I ate meat I’d get one! I showed hubby one of your previous posts on the Romertopf and hubby said his mum has one and used it a bit when they were kids :)
Stefanie, Faros is SO much cheaper than the Fish Markets, and usually a very high quality (you have to watch out of the occasional frozen imported fillets, which look a bit sad). Having said that, they have everything well labelled, so we always know what we’re buying! :)
Wow I feel like Ive been on a food trail. Love those pancakes what a great idea. and oh my that brisket looks so good. Sigh one day….
One day SOON, I hope! :)
Whoops, my comment may have disappeared! Anyway, I love your ramblings. You have so much good (and tasty!) stuff going on in your life. And any post with a picture of a dumpling in it is a winner!
Thank you! We had dumplings again last night! :)
You don’t know how much I wished I lived on your street! A great selection of photos and tid bits.
Thanks Danielle! Have added you to the list! :)
I got sidetracked by your food and forgot to let you know I completed an In My Kitchen post – thanks again for hosting.
Happy Snack sounds like a winner to me, found myself staring intently at those plates of food, all looks so good! What a lovely collection of small moments of bliss, and the toddler is just beautiful ! xx
Isn’t she just the cutest? :) The Vietnamese salad at HS is enough to convince Pete to eat lunch, which he doesn’t normally do! :)
TWELVE pancakes at one sitting? And he’s ‘small’ man? holy cow. They sure do look good in that photo but 12 is a lot of food. :) I’m so hungry now.
M, the 12 pancakes were impressive. But the six hot cross buns that he had for lunch an hour later were actually terrifying.. :D
What a wonderful post and that chipmunk stuffing her cheeks is SO gorgeous :) I love heading over here and peeking in on your world. You seem to accomplish so very much and all of that baking, it makes me SO hungry :). I have a Romertopf that I picked up for $2 a couple of years ago from a progressive garage sale. Now that Brunhilda is back with us for the foreseeable future and her latent heat is magnificently free and always present, I might just pull it out of hiding and give it a good soaking and see what I can do with it.
Fran, just be a wee bit careful – the Romertopf needs to go into a COLD oven, or it can crack from the thermal shock. Not sure how it will cope with Brunhilda if she’s always on?
I have 4 ovens so maybe I could start it in my warming oven and move it progressively through the heating stages?
Oh yes, should be fine, so long as you start it in the cold oven. We have ours in a 200C with fan oven for hours and it’s fine – just doesn’t like sudden changes in temp. So can’t put it into preheated oven, and can’t plonk the hot pot out of oven onto cold bench tiles, that sort of thing! Have fun! :)
I had a Schlemmertopf years ago which was pretty much the same thing I think? It made the most amazing roast chook ever. My Romertopf doesn’t have a glazed insides so hopefully everything doesn’t stick like billio’s to it and make me twitch ;)
Not sure how the unglazed pot will work – a couple of other people have commented here that they weren’t happy with the results? I’ve only ever used the glazed ones…
I might stick with baking veggies in it then. I don’t mind a bit of discolouration and after a while they tend to get pretty non stick so I guess I just have to try :)
Golly Fran, and I thought *I* was up early… :)
I get up at 3am every day. I get 4 hours of quality “me” time here online to read whatever I like and to blog, comment etc. while I am fresh and new in my new day. I LOVE it :)
Thanks for letting us stroll through your week(s) with you and recount all that you’ve been doing and tasting. Baby M has some pretty cute cheeks, it would be hard to resist plumping them right up and landing a kiss on each one. :)
Isn’t she adorable, Judy? Hope you’re doing ok, hon… xxx
I always enjoy your ramblings but thanks for the note about the inside glazing of the Römertopf. Am currently stalking them at the local kitchen shop so now have another excuse to go and look at them again!
Peters of Kensington in Sydney has Romertopfs for sale at quite reasonable prices (occasionally at GREAT prices, when they’re on sale)… http://www.petersofkensington.com.au
Thanks for the link Celia. We are in Ballarat, Victoria but I have checked the peters of kensington prices and it looks like Chefs Hat South Melbourne is quiet comparable on price.
I saw another friend post pictures of these rhinos! i think they are so so cool :D Very creative
Sandy, we only managed to see the one, but I saw pics of them too! :)
I am in awe of what you are able to achieve, Celia, and how generous you are. I find 12 pancakes and 6 hot cross buns hard to swallow (terrible pun!). Just as well you are able to find your well priced fish and other goodies.
Anne, as he was eating them, I did think to myself..”maybe I need to worm that kid…” :D
It looks like you have been busy indeed Celia. You have some cute little neighbours too xox
Becca, she’s just the cutest little girl ever! :)
$6 for that bowl of beef brisket? Surely the bargain of the city! Great shot of the Big Bad Banksia Man.
Celia, you are the busiest person I know. I always live reading all of the interesting things in your posts and you’ve certainly entertained me with this one. First though I have to say that little chipmunk eating your brioche is the cutest darling and I’m surprised you’d let her parents take her home.
Those rhinos are fabulous. A few years ago, here in the States there were painted cows in all of the major cities that were so much fun. I’m of course having a hard time remembering what it was all about but no matter, they were the coolest cows although certainly more common than rhinos.
That cathedral looks lovely. Sine my daughter will be getting married next year, we’ve been looking at churches and would love to find a beautiful cathedral near her reception venue. So many modern churches here were built with basic A frames and just don’t have that grandeur of a cathdral.