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Deus Ex Machina

August 17, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Deus Ex Machina (Latin: “god from the machine”) is a motorcycle emporium in the inner-Sydney suburb of Camperdown.

Located in the old Oddbins site (now I’m really showing my age), the company specialises in customised motorcycles, but their Sydney headquarters offers so much more than that.  The large space houses a workshop, a bustling café, and a shop selling bikes, surfboards and clothing.

We had planned to pop in for lunch, but ended up spending a couple of hours in the shop instead – Pete bought clothes, while I took photos with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone.

I had fun experimenting with the different black and white settings…

The entrance to the workshop is at the top left of the photo…

Just for fun, a grainy black and white Hipsta combination (Buckhorst and US 1776)…

All the motorcycles were gleaming and polished…

I’d never realised how beautiful they could be…

The colour photos were taken with Hipstamatic’s new Wonder lens and W40 film, which seemed a good match for the ambiance of the store…

I have an appalling weakness for boots, but didn’t buy any…

…nor did Pete buy a $700 vintage leather jacket, although he had fun trying some of them on…

The range is wide and eclectic, extending to brightly coloured toy robots and expensive funky sunglasses…

Deus Ex Machina is a fabulous place to visit – whether for a meal, to shop, or just to admire the motorcycles.  At the moment, their winter clothing range is 50% off – Pete bought a great oilskin jacket and wool shirt.

Oh, and because my Latin scholar son was so appalled by my initial pronunciation of Deus Ex Machina, here is a YouTube video on how it should sound.  Big Boy wouldn’t let me go into the store until I’d learnt to say it properly!

. . . . .

Deus Ex Machina
98-104 Parramatta Road, Camperdown
Sydney New South Wales 2050 AUSTRALIA

P: +61 2 8594 2800
F: +61 2 9557 5890

http://au.deuscustoms.com/

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged | 54 Comments »

Feasting from the Garden

August 16, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Our peas are cropping heavily, and the broccoli heads are perfectly formed and bug-free. Such are the joys of a mild Sydney winter!

For those who are interested in plant varieties, this is our second year growing Willow/Sommerwood peas, and they’ve been brilliant – mildew-resistant and producing long fat pods with up to ten peas in each.  The broccoli this year is called Green Dragon, and it’s the best heading variety we’ve ever grown.

I shelled all the peas, eating a few along the way (as one does)…

…and we made pasta primavera, with perennial leeks, broccoli and peas cooked with pancetta and Pepe Saya butter, then finished with chopped sorrel and mint leaves.  Bliss!

Posted in Frugal Living | 78 Comments »

MCA

August 13, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Welcome to my city!

It was a sunny winter’s day, and Pete and I took a trip down to the historic Rocks district to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

The Rocks, built along Sydney’s foreshore, was the site of Australia’s first European settlement in 1788.  The area now has protected status, and its original architecture has been preserved. Skyscrapers dominate from Circular Quay onwards…

We had a delicious lunch at the MCA restaurant, sitting outside and gazing  at the Opera House…

Everything about the MCA is cool, even the hand dryers in the bathrooms…

The 18th Biennale of Sydney, our largest contemporary visual arts event, is currently in full swing.  The MCA plays an integral part in this, with two floors of the museum currently dedicated to Biennale installations.

Here’s just a snippet of what the MCA has on offer at the moment.  All the photos were taken with my iPhone4S, using the Hipstamatic app (Foxy lens, Pistil film, for those who are interested).  The size and majesty of many of the displays was hard to capture (especially as flash photography is prohibited).

This large installation by Thai artist, Pinaree Sanpitak is entitled Anything Can Break. The accompanying music makes standing under the display a complete sensory experience…

The Biennale includes several audio visual pieces, including Air Land by Khaled Sabsabi..

Moon Jars, by Pak Young-Sook…

The Mending Project, by Lee Mingwei is an interactive piece – members of the public bring clothing that needs to be mended and chat to the artists as it’s being repaired. The clothing is then left for the duration of the exhibition…

All the pieces remain connected to the spools mounted on the wall…

Multicoloured oil paints on canvas, by Thai artist Mit Jai Inn…

Hidden away in a darkened corner is Brisbane artist Ross Manning’s Fixational Eye (Vertical), a spinning light display…

I could have stood there watching it all day…

Woven Water: Submarine Landscape I by Maria Fernanda Cardosa incorporates preserved starfish…

These Manster pieces by Maria Kozic are direction specific. Here they are viewed from the left…

..and from the right…

Girelal by Alick Tipoti is a very large linocut mounted on canvas – my iPhone could only capture sections of it…

I found A Journey by Judith Wright very moving (but hard to photograph in the deliberately dimly lit room)…

The top floor of the MCA offers a café with breathtaking views…

Astonishingly, entry to the MCA is free.  If you’re in Sydney, do wander in for a visit, and maybe support them as we did, by eating in one of their restaurants or purchasing from their very funky shop!

Museum of Contemporary Art
140 George St
The Rocks
Sydney  NSW  2000
10am – 5pm Mon – Wed, Fri – Sun
10am – 9pm Thursdays
Closed Christmas Day

Website:  www.mca.com.au

Posted in Cool Things | Tagged , , | 58 Comments »

International Scone Week Roundup

August 11, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

There’s been a mad flurry of scone baking in the blogosphere!

Heidi @ Steps on the Journey baked Scutter Botch Scones…

…and North American Scones…

…and Dried Cherry and Chocolate Scones…

Glenda @ Passion Fruit Garden baked Pumpkin Scones…

Joanna @ Zeb Bakes made Kombucha Scones..

Misky @ Misk Cooks baked Lemonade Scones…

…and Fanta Zero Scones…

Becca @ The InTolerant Chef made
Gluten and Lactose-Free Lavender Scones…

Pam @ Grow, Bake, Run baked Banana and Date Scones…

Caroline @ Cakes, Crumbs and Cooking made
Blueberry Vanilla Ricotta Scones…

Mandy @ The Complete Cookbook baked Yoghurt Scones…

Emilie @ The Clever Carrot baked Rustic Buttermilk Scones…

Brydie @ CityHippyFarmGirl made Date and Orange Scones…

…and Pumpkin Scones…

Claire @ Claire K Creations baked a Giant Cinnamon Streusal Scone…

Christine @ Invisible Spice made Traditional Scones…

Craig baked Buttermilk Scones with Currants and Lemon…

Tandy made Traditional Scones…

Pamela @ Spoon Feast baked Cinnamon Blueberry Almond Scones…

Choclette made White Chocolate and Whey Scones…

Charlie @ Hotly Spiced baked Currant Scones…

And I baked Vanilla Scones…

Have I missed anyone?

If you’ve baked and blogged scones this week, or do so next week,
please let me know and I’ll add your post to the round-up!

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged | 37 Comments »

International Scone Week

August 6, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Did you know that it’s International Scone Week?

It’s not surprising if you didn’t, given that Joanna, Heidi and I made it up a couple of years ago.  We found ourselves in a flurry of serendipitous scone baking, and had so much fun that we thought it would be lovely to repeat it annually.

So the second week of August became Scone Week, declared to be International since we were all baking and blogging from different continents.

I decided to make yet another attempt at a traditional recipe this year. I haven’t had much luck in the past, and usually end up with clunky hockey pucks (unlike the ever reliable lemonade scone recipe, which never seems to fail).

However, undeterred, I watched a clip from River Cottage and tried again.

They were a great success!  Pete declared that they were the best scones I’d ever made – “better than the lemonade ones” – and promptly ate four of them with Pepe Saya butter and his homemade mixed berry jam…

The secret, it seems, is to handle the dough as little as possible once the liquid is added, and to cut them without twisting.  The original recipe is on the River Cottage website (unfortunately, the link is now broken) – here’s my amended version…

  • 300g (2 cups) plain (AP) flour
  • 2 generous teaspoons baking powder
  • pinch of fine sea salt
  • 75g (5 US tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 50g (¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
  • 125g (½ cup) milk (original recipe used cream)
  • 1 large free range egg
  • a little milk for brushing the tops before baking

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F) or 180C (360F) with fan. Line a small baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Sieve the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

3. Cut the butter into small cubes and then rub it into the flour with your fingertips. Stir in the sugar.

4. Whisk together the milk and egg, then pour it onto the dry ingredients. Mix together gently with your fingers, then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together gently. Don’t overwork it – as my friend Shawna pointed out, it’s better to have a little dough stuck on the counter than flat scones.

5. Lightly roll the dough to a thickness of about 2½ cm (1″). Using a well-floured round cutter, cut the dough into circles, taking care not to twist as you push down (which apparently retards the rise). Lay the scones on the parchment-lined tray and brush the tops with a little milk. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until (hopefully) well-risen and golden brown.

I read somewhere that cooling the hot scones on a wire rack will result in a crisp exterior, whereas wrapping them in a tea towel with soften them.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I’ll be spending a bit of time with our visiting friends this week, but I wanted to get this post up at the beginning of International Scone Week.  Misky and Heidi have already started baking!

If you’d like to bake and blog about scones, please feel free to leave a comment here linking back to your post, so that everyone can read it.  On Saturday I’ll do a round-up post of everyone’s scones.  Happy baking!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 45 Comments »

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