the growth of my garden.

over the past few days, my father and i...(mostly my father)... have been labouring away making 3 beautiful raised vegie beds for our garden. during these few days i have learnt many things, including: 

1. what 'wet wood' is and what 'dry wood' is.

2. the art of wielding a drill!

3. and finally, that shoveling and lifting dirt is very tedious and produces a sore back.

to make our boxes, my dad cut all the pieces of wood (which was wet wood and therefore heavy, unlike dry wood) to size and then we carried the bits of wood out into the garden and set them up in place, making sure they were level and straight; and adjusting them when our neighbour commented that they were not level and straight. i was given the task of drilling the holes into the wood and then my father drilled the screws in, as i was not so successful at that job. but i was successful at fetching the screws for him and dunking their ends into petroleum jelly, to let them slide into their new homes with ease and comfort.

dad then lined the boxes with thick plastic to stop any leakage of dirt and chucked some rocks and stuff on top of the grass which he had dug up, to help with drainage. next came the fun task of shoveling and transporting one tonne of sand and three cubic metres of dirt from the driveway to the boxes. the sand was put in the bottom of the boxes and the dirt on top. this took a long time. we then finally mulched the tops of our vegie beds with some delicious compost.

in our new raised vegie boxes, we planted a lovely winter crop of sugar snap peas, broccoli, beetroot, carrots, parsnips, radishes and mustard greens.

we didn't have quite enough dirt for this final box, so we put as much dirt as we had in the bottom, and then topped it off with straw. in the straw we planted some desiree potatoes; the tops of which will grow up nice and green and tall, covering up the unsightly mismatched plastic.

here are some pictures of two of the members of our tropical fruit garden, the papaya tree and lady finger banana tree. the papaya is growing strong and has several fruit on it, you can see the biggest fruit so far in the second picture below.

the banana tree is also doing well, and has produced two 'suckers' around its base, which will replace the main tree when it eventually fruits and dies.

here is some of our bounty crop of ruby chard and silver beet, growing at the feet of our tropical fruit trees. both of these are a delicious alternative to spinach and they can be added to many dishes. one use for either ruby chard or silver beet, is in my magical breakfast wraps, a map for which you can find here.

 - thefridgeraider.

portuguese custard tarts - made in australia.

these little portuguese babies were whipped up this afternoon, and they were pretty darn delicious indeed. crisp, thin flaky pastry; rich, creamy, eggy custard; all topped off with a traditional burnt-ish finish. delicioso.

i used bill granger's recipe for these tarts, which i came across on Not Quite Nigella a few weeks ago. i had been as keen as a bean to make these portuguese custard tarts during these few weeks, and the perfect occasion arose this afternoon, as it was cold and frosty, and i had some cream handy, leftover from making panna cotta the day before. i strongly suggest making these tarts...they may save you a trip to petersham and back, or maybe even portugal! but, then again, im sure that portugal would probably take the cake anyway.

- thefridgeraider

when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie.

pizza. when made properly, it is a beautiful thing. when not made properly, it is not a beautiful thing. the key(s) to a top pizza, i believe are: a thin, crispy base and minimal toppings...less is more. on this particular pizza i used little slices of roasted sweet potato, grilled zucchini, roasted capsicum, mushies, olives, fetta and prosciutto, topped off with some fresh baby rocket. fresh basil is also essential on a delicious pizza.

other fantastic pizza toppings include: red onion slices, bocconcini, roasted potato slices, roasted garlic, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, mozzarella cheese, roasted chicken, pesto, shaved parmesan, caramelised onions...etc etc etc, the list goes on and on. but this list should never include pineapple or copious amounts of cheese.

the pizza base recipe i use goes as follows:

you will need:

500g strong bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

7g or one sachet of dried yeast

1/2 tbsp caster sugar

325mls of lukewarm water

method:

place lukewarm water, sugar and yeast in a jug, stir to dissolve and sit in a warm spot for 5 minutes covered with a tea towel. when the yeast has activated, pour mixture into large bowl with flour and salt. mix until he dough comes together and then knead for 10 minutes. place the ball of dough in a bowl and let it sit and rise in a warm spot covered with a tea towel for 15 minutes or so. your dough should now be soft and increased in size, divide into portions (this amount of dough easily makes 4 large pizza's) and roll until very thin. if you wish for your pizza's to be thicker, you may only get two bases out of this amount of dough. top with your favourite toppings and bake in a hot oven, 220*C for 10-12 minutes. if you have a slower oven, crank it as hot as it will go, to ensure it has a crispy base. and also, a pizza stone or two is a device well worth investing in.

 - thefridgeraider

panna cottas and pearls.

last night i made my first ever panna cotta. a delicious coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta with strawberries and lime syrup, a recipe from the delightful Marion Grasby. it was also my first experience working with gelatine leaves, and my unfamiliarity left me looming with nightmarish questions, as i left my panna cottas to set in the fridge overnight to set; the most obvious of these being 'will they set?!' but alas, all was well, and my panna cottas set to their deliciously wobbly creamy perfection :)

panna cotta seems to have a strange enigma surrounding them, instilling fear in the minds of amateurs approaching the task of making them. but do not fear i tell you, the process is actually quite simple, with really just a mix, heat, infuse, whisk, strain and set involved. and voila you have a panna cotta!

the recipe for this coconut and kaffir lime panna cotta with strawberries and lime syrup is one of the many delectable recipe's featuring in Marion Grasby's new cookbook Marion - Recipes and stories of a hungry cook and you can find the recipe here.

to finish this post, i leave you with a pearl of wisdom from my mother, spoken after we consumed our panna cottas on a sunny saturday afternoon. i was suggesting to her that perhaps i should make the servings a little smaller next time, as i only used 4 glasses to serve, instead of Marion's suggested 6, but she wasn't convinced, and i said...

'they were really quite filling though, weren't they mum?'   

 to which she replied...

'well, there isn't really much point eating something if it isn't filling, is there?'

what a wonderful attitude to have!  

my morsel of the marvelous marion!

On the 29 of June, I had the great honor of going to Author Talk at Shearer's Bookshop in Leichhardt to see Masterchef Season Two favourite... the marvelous Marion Grasby! I had been awaiting this event with great anticipation and excitement for many days, and when the night finally arrived, I felt ill with excitement and nerves! I was going to meet my food hero!

Before Author Talk began my sister, Jess, and I went to sate our appetites with some delicious Pho' Bo and Bu'n Bo at Tra Mi in Marrickville. My Pho' was simply delicious, warming and aromatic, everything that one expects from a bowl of Pho' Bo and I powered through the seemingly endless bowl with great vigour. And Jess' Bu'n Bo was a delicious mix of noodle-y, salad-y, beef-y, fried shallot-y goodness. Jess and I also scored ourselves some free black herbal tea when we asked where we could purchase some. Hooray for free tea!

Pre-Marion Pho' Bo of course!

...My beautiful sister and I beaming with excitement pre-Marion! I wore big round button-like earrings, a signature Marion trademark that I have observed over the years; and Jess wore a cardigan, skirt and leggings, in typical Marion fashion! 'Its freaky that you know this,' you may be thinking. Yes, yes it is. The sign of a truly dedicated fan.

Excited Sisters!

Even though I am only 17 years old, it was clear to me that Marion spoke with clarity and direction beyond her years. Marion's whole face lit up when speaking about her life and food experiences. It was a real joy to laugh with her as she reflected over her life, focusing on the last few eventful years in particular; the time when Marion broke into and made her mark upon the food industry. During her talk Marion spoke about her years growing up in Darwin, Papua New Guinea and Queensland; and the various memorable (and not so memorable) food experiences that accompanied these places. She also spoke about her more recent years and experiences in South Australia and Thailand. Marion spoke enthusiastically about her Thai heritage and the influence that it has had upon her and her food.

At the end of the night, I had the chance to purchase Marion's beautiful new book, Marion - Recipes and stories from a hungry cook. Marion signed my book with:

'To Lydia, You wok! Love Marion xx'

Then I got a photo with Marion herself, yes, I touched Marion! I was so elated from and thankful for the little 'morsel' of Marion that I got at Shearers. And in the same way that Marion thanked and showed much gratitude to those that inspired and continue to inspire her, Marion, if you ever read this, I say a huge thank you to you!

Me and my foodie Hero!

At the end of the night there were a number of samples of Marion's recipes for those at Author Talk to feast on including Sweet Pepper Chicken, Mushroom and Taleggio Toasties, and some lovely iced Gingerbreads.

My signature 'eyes half closed' look while munching on Marion's delectable Gingerbread!

Thank you again Marion. I look forward to meeting you again one day.. hopefully next time I will be a little less star struck and will be able to talk to you a little more!

And in the words of Marion herself, i say,  'Happy dreaming and happy eating!'

thefridgeraider@Terrigal Beach.

Todays artistic efforts featuring my foodie friends Shamus and Miwa.

This creative expression was carried out following a feast of Red Curry Chicken and Pumpkin, Stir fry Chicken Cashew Nut and Stir fry Tofu and Vegetable with Peanut Sauce. Yum! AND... some delectable pecan caramel ice-cream from my beloved Terrigal Ice-creamery.

* please note that the spoon was retrieved and binned after the taking of this photo, as i am not a fan of choking seagulls. or even worse, not a fan of someone stepping on the spoon, and catapulting sand into their face.

sand is not delicious.