A few bits and pieces from the past couple of weeks…
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Big Boy made his first batch of marshmallows, under Pete’s watchful eye. It takes dexterity to pour hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites without splashing…
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I cooked an old Women’s Weekly recipe for Vietnamese-style coriander chicken. It had a whole tablespoon of crushed coriander seeds in it, which I loved. The boys less so…
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I attempted the Tartine recipe for baguettes, which mostly uses plain (AP) flour. They didn’t end up as holey as I’d hoped, but they were very tasty…
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Leftover beef stew was upcycled into lasagne…
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Pete and I visited the Biennale installations at Carriageworks. They were large and impressive and glorious…
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I’ve been knitting dishcloths and wiring up angels…
A long chorus of crystal angels has been hanging on our dining room window for over a decade. Every morning, they put on a light show for us…
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A visit to Haverick Meats yielded these glorious grassfed beef shortribs. Butcher Mark went out the back to find them for me, as the ones on display were all grainfed…
I braised them slowly with root vegetables following a Ming Tsai recipe, then served them with crusty sourdough…
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I’ve been practising my slashing, and finally feel like I’m getting the hang of it. It’s taken over a dozen loaves to get a result I’m really happy with…
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I texted my friends Will and Bethany and asked them if they’d like a loaf. They politely accepted, then sent this photo with a tagline of “Bring me the sourdough!”
For all of you Grace fans who’ve been wondering what she’s been up to…now you know…
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Hope you’re all having a wonderful month! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Well, even though I loved the video and the slashing of the bread, the last photo stole my heart! ;-)
happy April for you, Celia!
Oh hello there. Your April has started well. You can slash girl….let it be known. Glad you got to see the biennial and I love the look of those short ribs,.
Wonderful bread! And homemade marshmallow. Oh, my!
Those loaves are beauty! I love your experimenting. My crystal is hanging on my pencil holder and makes me happy. Hugs, Maz.
Loved the crystal angels making Light…
YEAH, Bring on that Sourdough! funny. I have made marshmallows and the problem is……..one eats them ALL.
The pattern on those loaves of bread looks awesome!
Oh Celia my dear girl, I keeled over laughing when I read “I’ve been practising my slashing”…the mental image is priceless!
Hahahaha!!! Oh dear, we’re showing our age, Rose! :)
That vietnamese style chicken looks great, any clues as to where one might find the recipe??
Simon, it’s from an old women’s weekly cookbook on Vietnamese cooking. Not sure how authentic it was, but it was very tasty!
Young Grace’s head is so full of imagination. I’ve just been reading Michael Pollan’s book ‘Cooked’ and in the bread chapter he talks about visiting Chad Robertson at his Tartine bakery – Chad organised his bakery so that he could go surfing in the morning, then bake and sell his sourdough breads in the afternoon. Your Tartine loaf looks good and I think you can now claim membership of the Worshipful Company of Slashers:). Just as well you have the little dancing angels to watch over you. At the weekend I cooked an AWW recipe for beef cheeks with cinnamon and star Anise – it was tender and very nice.
I just pulled some drumsticks out of the freezer with not much idea what to do with them – I’m going hunting for that WW Vietnamese recipe. Look at Grace – how adorable :)
The quality of the shortribs hits one right thru’ the screen and I so love the idea of the coriander chicken: depends what you mean ‘old’ – looks like something Charmaine Solomon might have written . . . ? Am so disappointed not to have made it to the Biennale: thanks for a few photos . . .
Your recipes are always fabulous but your Swarovski Ornaments have really been on my mind. I’ve started gathering ears to make some. BNOW, I want the directions and sources for your beautiful angels. Where do you get those “teardrop” beads? Gorgeous!
Sorry Bee, they’re long gone – I have an old collection of vintage Swarovski that I now just keep for my angels. They’re my “trademark” piece, so I’m afraid I need to keep the instructions to myself as well!
So ever I love love all your posts, dear Celia
Loved this post, Celia,but I have to admit, I had to stop and stare at those well-marbled short ribs. Your butcher is one to cherish if that’s indicative of the meat he sells. So, you can imagine how long I stared at the plate of those very same ribs but after their braise. Wow! I’d be talking about that dinner — in glowing terms, no less — for weeks to come.
There is always so much love and glorious food in your home Celia – wonderful!
Have a super day.
:-) Mandy xo
I love these catch ups! Do wish I could slash my sourdough loaves as cleverly as you , think I need a lot more practice. Those beef ribs look amazing, we don’t get them very often here (not sure why as we eat so much beef in England!). And as for the light show….beautiful ☺
So many delicious things an special moments to savor in your kitchen, Celia, what a treat!
Love each and every one of these pieces and bits. Your slashing is really looking lovely. I do love that angel light show. Something lovely to catch the sun as it dances through the windows :)
I’ve been to Tartine in San Fran – their morning bun is devine!
Celia: congratulate big boy. Even I haven’t managed to get there.
Not a fan of coriander
What a great idea for leftover stew! Ingenious.
Bread looks so good, wish I could get some starter from you but I’m half way around the world.
One of my favorite cuts of beef is short ribs.
I ran into a blog the other week, I don’t know how I found it and now I can’t.
It was a young man in Australia, a city but don’t know what one.
He called himself Big boy. Is this your big boy??
Nope Charlie, not my Big Boy! :)
Hello darling… love love love your slashing… wow!!!! And those marshmallows… please send your boy to my place soon. Much love, xxx
fantastic slashing – I am just glad it mine doesn’t look like it sports a fauxhawk but yours is a work of art – lots of lovely things in your life – always nice to get a positive bean of warm coming here
Your slashing looks beautiful Celia and I’m impressed with Big Boy’s marshmallows. Since I got my stand mixer last year, it’s been on my list of things to try – vegetarian ones of course.
My mouth waters reading your posts! I’d love the recipe for the coriander chicken. Your slashing looks beautiful!