Dessert is my least favourite part of a meal, but when quinces are in season, all that changes! The thing to remember with quinces is that they require some forethought in timing their slow cooking to your meal. The effect of the long cooking is that the quinces change from bright yellow to a deep ruby red. They remain whole, but are so well cooked you can even eat the cores! Avoid super large or pineapple variety quinces for this kind of method though -MB. Read the rest...
Tomato sugo is coarser than tomato passata as it’s made from chopped tomatoes, whereas the tomatoes for passata are sieved, making it more like a puree. Sugo can be used in soups, stews and sauces, or any other dish where a tomato flavour is desired, but without the texture or acidity of fresh tomatoes. Bowls of hot pasta with sugo on cold nights is Maggie's idea of fast food! Read the rest...
Once you’ve made your first homemade mayonnaise, you’ll never want to buy it again. Homemade mayonnaise adds so much to a meal, with very little effort involved - its rich and velvety texture can make a really simple dish sing -MB. Read the rest...
We have five mature Meyer Lemon trees in our garden, and although they are laden with fruit at the moment, I’ve often thought that even if they never offered up such an essential bounty, I’d still be happy to have them for their beauty alone. They really are very beautiful trees, but add to that the convenience of having a supply of lemons on hand, almost year round, and the Meyer Lemon very quickly becomes indispensable to any home-gardener’s kitchen -MB. Read the rest...
Recently we had Rowie Dillon and friend of Rowie’s Cakes staying at the Orchard House. Rowie, an amazing gluten free chef from Sydney, took full advantage of absolutely everything available, from the kitchen to the windfalls as well as the last apples on the trees. These delicious Barossa apples were baked in the charcoal BBQ; just divine! -MB. Read the rest...
