A few snippets from the last couple of weeks – it’s been a busy time!
When Pete’s family were down for our early Christmas get-together, Penny, Ray and I popped into the Sydney Fish Market to buy supplies for lunch. The salmon were so fresh they looked like they were still swimming…
We bought scallops, Coffin Bay oysters, calamari, ocean trout and a kilo and a half of these magnificent tiger prawns…
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We’ve stopped planting squash because a couple seem to come up by themselves every year. And when they grow to this size, a couple is more than anyone needs! For some reason, each year the tromboncino crosses look a bit more risque (sigh)…
Our neighbour Mark’s passionfruit vine is promising a bumper crop this season – there are already half a dozen fruit maturing on our side of the fence…
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Last week, Pete and I lunched with the divine Deb Kolkka at the White Rabbit Gallery. I took a few photos of the current exhibition…
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Small Man is our resident Christmas elf.
Every year he tidies up the living room, moves the furniture, drags the tree out of the cellar, then spends hours meticulously setting it up and arranging the lights. Only then does he call the rest of the family in to hang up decorations!
Half the decorations on the tree are homemade and I have trouble culling any, so the tree just gets fuller each year…
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I was excited to find 5 Stagioni Semola Rimacinata on sale at a local deli when I popped in to pick up a fresh bag of chestnut flour. Bread and chestnut flour brownies are on the list for Christmas…
I tested out the new semolina flour in a batch of overnight sourdough rolls and it was very good. It seems to absorb more water than the other brands, which means I’ll be able to make higher hydration doughs with it…
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Christmas chocolate making this year will involve gorgeous candied orange segments that I found at Johnny’s cheese shop…
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My old friend Wendy stopped by yesterday and gave me all her surplus sample bags. It was like receiving a box of treasure! That sorts out Christmas wrapping for me…
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And as for Christmas gift tags – here’s a link to some we made five years ago. I turned them into pdfs in case you’d like to print them out onto card and use them for your kitchen treats…
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Christmas gift tag – with greeting
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What’s been happening at your place this December?
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Great Christmas ideas! Have you tried the new Paesanella Food Emporium on Marrickville Road? It big enough to have it’s own cheese room. Well worth the trip.
Oh yes, it’s fabulous! But I’m very attached to Johnny’s shop – we’ve been going there so long that they’re like family now! :)
You never cease to amaze me Celia with all your ideas. Any chance small man could pop in and to a bit of elfing around here? Send him down. I don’t know if i ever mentioned this, but I love fish so much, I think I may grow fins. Fishing is in my genes. A trip to the sydney fish market would be my idea of heaven.
Francesca, after I wrote this post, I thought to myself, “I really should get Small Man an elf hat for the holidays”.. :) If you ever get to Sydney, I’ll take you to the fish markets! :)
Next to nothing; and since the whole family is in agreement with this, it’s wonderful. My father and stepmother will host a ‘skeleton’ family on Christmas Day, with seafood and salad my sister picks up on her way and Eaton Mess brought by me. Because I can cart the meringues on the plane from Sydney to Melbourne and actively encourage ‘failure’.
For anyone who does the dreaded Sydney-Melbourne run around Christmas, I cannot recommend flying on Christmas Day highly enough. Fewer people and those that are about are much more chilled than they’ve been in weeks.
No presents, except for the kids. None of us need them. We just want to spend time together, which has been in shortest supply. So that means a visit to Mum’s favourite place, Rippon Lea, and the Boxing Day Test Match on the telly. A long cuddle with my oldest friend’s new baby and then home to my garden.
So nothing doing here except the craziness of work at the year’s end!
See, that sounds completely perfect! I’ve been contemplating spending a few days in a bean bag with the aircon on watching David Attenborough.. :)
Lovely snippets. Very jealous of your candied orange – I can’t find it anywhere here.
Amanda, it’s a perpetual quest here as well. These are the best I’ve found in years!
Snap, on the lovely snippets! When small man finishes at Francesca’s place could he pop up to Alice please?? Your sourdough rolls look like Roman panini. Swoon.
Ardys, he might need a little Santa magic to get to everyone before Christmas! :)
Small Man could make a fortune decorating trees for the decorating challenged like me! Those candied oranges look seriously seductive.
Rose, he’s very meticulous! And like his father, quite pedantic – the tree lights are on, but not flashing – according to the Christmas Elf, flashing is gaudy! :)
You constantly inspire and amaze me… I love your Snippets, and you never know when the info might come in handy even if not right now… This afternoon I laughed as my search for “Easiyo without sachets” popped up a 2010 Fig Jam and Lime Cordial Post! the answer I needed. And I just handmade some tags or I would have used your templates as well :)
My snippets are an Easiyo, dried cherries (for Christmas cookies inspired by ChgoJohn) and organic vanilla essence all ordered online from Kombu Wholefoods in Bellingen which I’ll take delight in visiting in person while we’re away, and printing recipes from Francesa’s blog in the hope of encountering berries too.
Hooray for homemade yoghurt! One tip – we scoop our yoghurt from the side of the container and carefully tip out the whey as it accumulates. We don’t stir the yoghurt at all. That way it comes out like thick sour cream! :)
Please send small man to my place…. Peter and I will feed him and we have a guest bedroom, so he’ll be well cared for. I could use his talents with tree erection and decoration please. Love those oranges, Celia… I used to make those once upon three decades ago! Waiting for my chocolate order to come… and then my edible gifts will be on the go too. Thanks for the lovely update my friend xo
Lizzy, he always does such a good job! It’s the only time in the year he touches a vacuum cleaner though! :)
I could do with a loan of your Christmas elf too Celia, I’m happy to stand in line!
Sandra, he’s such a treasure, but I suspect one tree a year is all he’s up for! :)
The White Rabbit Gallery looks impressive, just read your other post on it – will have to try to visit. I wish I had a little elf, so many things going on at the moment we are yet to put up our little tree, hopefully this weekend. Your tree looks lovely x
Stefanie, it’s not my favourite WR exhibition to date, but still worth a look. The Teahouse in the foyer has a very nice selection of teas to choose from as well!
Oh, I still have not made it to the ‘White Rabbit Gallery, and you have taken us there twice before methinks . . . have to look up the latest exhibit! But whereas everything on your list attracts I think I have been staring at those just-out-of-the-sea salmon with the greatest of envy for the last five minutes! [And talking about Chgo John: chicken gizzards are the next to go on my shopping list: just love tonight’s agnoletti recipe :) !!]
The salmon was the freshest I’ve ever seen, Eha! :)
Oooh! Those candied oranges caught my attention!! Love that your neighbours’ passionfruit tree is creeping onto your property, you know the rules about plants and property boundaries right??!!!
Oh yes! The branches of his fig tree are hanging over our side as well! :)
You’ve got so much going on! I love the chocolate orange! It’s gorgeous. And so is your tree – I’m exactly the same – I have old and raggedy decorations but I can’t bear to part with any of them. It’s lovely how Small-Man will organise the tree for you – when I need help around here the place quickly empties xx
I’m so glad he does Charlie, or I suspect we’d be less likely to put one up every year! But it really does change the feel of the house once it’s up! :)
I love when you do these little bits of joy :) I think that everything in you r house is normal great, but Christmas time looks like it is extra special…! I need that semolina now :) Ohhh I am so a bread addict now and the sourdough hasn’t effect my stomach or made me feel bloated!!!! YAY! Liz xx
Liz, that’s GREAT news about the sourdough! Hooray! :)
This post is wonderful, chockfull of goodies, Celia. The eyes of those salmon are so clear I’d swear they were looking at your camera lens. Your neighbor has a passion fruit tree? That is so foreign to me that you might as well have said he has the Golden Fleece hanging on a bush. I wish I had waited to make my gift tags — I made mine last weekend. I bet yours are far better. That’s OK. I’ll come back next year. :)
John, I’d heard passion fruit is rare over in the US! Here in Sydney at least it’s a common backyard plant! We feel very lucky to have it!
Great post, Celia! It’s almost a “In My Kitchen” round up!
We haven’t done much for Christmas yet, did not get a tree, did not think about a menu or anything. Oh, well… we’ll get there somehow!
You always do hon! :)
Love the tags! Things here are starting to feel Christmasy. We got our tree last weekend and also bought ones for our mums. Had a dinner party Sunday and made gougere, yogurt chicken on the BBQ and a salad with oranges, avocado, fresh mozz, romaine and peppered almonds. Then we sat around playing some of the ukeleles my hub built. Good times, Maz. :-)
Maz, how wonderful to be able to play the Wonderhub’s instruments! He’s so clever! Sounds like the festive season is well underway at your place! xxx
Oh, to live on your side of the fence… ;) I’m loving my passion fruit by the way. And tell Small Man he’s welcome to utilize his elf skills at our house! We assembled some sort of light up reindeer and matching sled over the weekend, and I thought I was going to pass out. I prefer building in the kitchen. xo
Hon, I’m so happy to hear that about the passionfruit! Assembling isn’t my thing either, but Small Man and Pete love a bit of Ikea..hahaha
I had a neighbour once that had a panama passionfruit tree. It was mostly on my side of the fence so I thought I was very smart until they chopped it down…. I wish I had a tree lover and decorator. I can’t get mine into the spirit. Love those oranges too!
That’s a shame about the tree, but how nice to have it for a while! :)
Loving the candied orange in chocolate especially the bars! We often make a semolina pasta dough for lasagna if I don’t have a lot of eggs on hand. Something you might love is Nigella’s polenta cake which is gluten free by accident and has a lovely sticky syrup….always have one in the freezer
I’ll look out for it, thanks Chrissy!
Lovely snippets! I am the one who seeing our lights and decorated the tree. Two of the boys popped by at the end and attempted to help but if course they put everything in the same spot! I had to go through a few of our ornaments this year as it was getting crowded too. So many and yet I love nearly all. St. Brought me one every year growing up, usually from a vacation location that year or a new hobby. Now he just brought the boys a new ornament on St. Nick’s Day so we have quite a collection. The. Of course all the ones,they make in school etc. Your rolls look fabulous and I am so incredibly jealous about all that seafood.
Gretchen, we have little visitors this year, so our tree is layered – unbreakable decos below and crystal and glass ones up high! I don’t think there’s too obvious a line! :)
Thanks Celia xx always a pleasure to give bags where they’re so appreciated!
Love ’em Wend, thank you so much! :)
That seafood does look very fresh indeed Celia, I’ve been hanging out for prawns lately and they’ve been very tasty. If your Christmas Elf ever needs a bit more fun he can pop down here and help me with our four treesm they take days to get up! Xox
Becca, these prawns were divine, as were the oysters! Best we’ve had in ages! :)
I think that is such a lovely and loving thing that small man is doing with your Christmas Tree. The tree and his family and his part in your celebration of Christmas are clearly very important to him and it makes it such a lovely ‘occasion’ when the room and the tree are revealed and you take part in the decorations! That’s so special Celia. All your snippets are lovely. I especially slaver over your glaced Orange and chocolate slices – what golden, decadence and delight.
Jan, I marvel at Small Man’s patience with the tree – it really isn’t a chore to him. But he loves having the whole family involved in decorating! :)
I have just received the package of ‘Priscilla’ which you so kindly sent, all the way from Australia to N.Wales, UK. I can’t wait to bring her to life and give her a good name, my husband suggested, Ozzie, which seems apt but my daughter thinks she should have a Welsh name! I’ll have to think about that. Anyway, Celia, I want to thank you for being such an angel, in sharing out your precious starter, I promise to look after her with great care and will keep you informed of how she progresses.
Have a lovely Christmas and a Good New Year. xxx
Hooray! I’m with your daughter – a nice hard to pronounce Welsh name with lots of consonants! :) I’m so glad it arrived so quickly Jeannette – I hope you have great fun with it! :)
Celia, those rolls look fabulous! I’ve really been into sourdough lately, making some bread every day. We’re breadaholics!
Jean, it’s that time of year! I’m baking every day as well! :)
Morning Celia!
Would love the recipe for the chocolate and candied orange peels. It would be great to make for Christmas.
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Great post Celia, love the orange dipped candy, your Christmas tree and just everything here. Thanks for sharing!
I want a son who’ll drag out the tree, set it up, put the lights on and THEN call the family. What a charmer he is. I set the tree up but this year John helped with the lights. First time in 20 years so maybe I’m on to a good thing.
I’m finally getting a chance to sit and catch up with your posts. You’ve certainly got some very tasty tidbits, that fresh salmon caught my eye. i’m afraid that I just don’t know what to do with prawns although I have seen them in the southern part of the US – not so much in the north.
Small man is a dear to do all that for you with the tree! We have our routine each year & my job is to pass on the stories of each of the ornaments…where we got them, who gave them to us, which are homemade. I keep the very special ones in their own individual boxes & really should put a little card in with each. Isn’t it wonderful to have homemade ornaments though?
Oh, I am so jealous – all those surplus bags! I’m taking a very close look at them & going to go through my fabric stash since I may have time to make up some myself. At least my shopping is done and now it’s time for wrapping.