red

I'm not sure why but I've been obsessed with red food lately. Tomatoes, strawberries, capsicum, chilli - I've been craving them all, but tomatoes in particular. Hello lycopene!

My folks came over on the weekend for lunch and it was the perfect opportunity to try out a soup recipe I've been eyeing off for a while, featuring you guessed it - tomatoes, and to get some cheese and antipasto plate action happening. Nothing quite like leisurely Sunday feasting.

Rustic Tomato Soup
Adapted from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals
Serves 4-6

1kg ripe cherry tomatoes on the vine
4 large truss or heirloom tomatoes
1 fresh red chilli, or chilli flakes
4 cloves garlic
1 ciabatta loaf
2 small red onions
4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
a small bunch of fresh basil
some shaved parmesan to serve
olive oil
pepper and salt

Set your oven to 220°C and put a large saucepan on to low heat.

Pull the cherry tomatoes off the vines (but don't worry too much if there are a few green tops left on), then quarter the larger tomatoes and put them all in together on a baking tray. Crush in the garlic along with the halved, deseeded and chopped chilli, drizzle with olive oil and season. Toss everything around together then put on the top shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile roughly slice up the ciabatta loaf and put the bread on another baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and put in the bottom shelf of the oven. Keep an eye on the bread periodically to make sure it doesn't get too brown.

Now peel and chop your onions and put them in a hot saucepan with oil and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat up and leave to soften, stirring occasionally.  After five or so minutes, stir in the 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and let it all reduce down.

Once the tomatoes are done, take the tray out of oven and pour everything in with the onions. Throw in the bunch of basil and then blend everything to a rustic consistency. Ladle into bowls and serve with some parmesan on top and your crunchy ciabatta croutons.

We demolished a fairly large antipasto plate before this and I was mistaken in thinking this soup would be a light main but trust me, it's a surprisingly full bodied little number.  My Dad claimed it was like a hot gazpacho and I'm tempted to try a cooled down version of this recipe in the summer months.

...

a regular sight

This has become a regular sight lately.

Making dough for pizza is such a lovely, quiet and meditative practice and it's easy to boot. I feel like it really started in earnest for me with the zucchini, honey and chevre pizza a year or so ago and it's just kept on going. 

These days, it’s pizza at least once a month, if not more. If you have an hour or so up your sleeve on a Sunday afternoon homemade pizza is pretty hard to top. Although, add to that some Wes Anderson and you may be nearing a perfect day.

...

This weekend I:

got up close and personal with a favourite saucepan to make moroccan stew and couscous

enjoyed coffee and toast in the park with Kristian near where I used to live

had dinner with my parents, who just got back from a month in Italy. My mum made an amazing apricot danish for dessert.

had fun with our kitchen reflections

made scones with sultanas and orange zest


toasted to a new job, starting tomorrow

had an very cute lunch made for me.

finally got around to watching Somewhere and then walked around the neighbourhood in a dreamy mood.

Gosh it went quick. See you next week!

...

on the third day of june we drank coffee

Just when I thought it was going to get all wintery, Sydney pulls out a stunner like today. I forget sometimes just how nice June can be. There was nothing for it but to get outside. Since I had the day off, I happily joined Kristian in a trip to the Workshopped Shop in Surry Hills and then we walked around, checking out design stores, bookshops and cafes until we found a tremendously cute little place on Albion Street for lunch, Bruschetteria. I recommend it if you're in that part of town. They serve lots of great paninis and bruschettas and a nutella coffee that was unexpectedly good. All in all a pretty fine day!

Hopefully this weather keeps up for the weekend. There was an ambitious Ikea trip planned but I suspect it'll be a low key weekend with a focus on brunching, friends and sunshine. Hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever your plans!

...

cool as a cucumber sandwich on a rainy day

Usually when it's pouring with rain, like it's been these past few days in Sydney, I dream about hot, nourishing stews and cup after cup of coffee. Perhaps it was all the kale flowers and vegetables I saw on my travels today but all I could think about was cucumber sandwiches. Something simple and reassuring to be eaten quietly at the table, whilst enjoying a good book and a hot cup of something. It's a strange day that I don't still love a good coffee or several.

This is the sort of thing you don't really need a recipe for - in the manner of toast or eggs or many other of those intuitive, sort of obvious things - it is more of an exercise in assembly. I have found though, after many a cucumber sandwich, that a good level of buttering, salt and pepper and a zingy mayonnaise add very much to the enjoyment of the essential ingredients: bread and cucumber. Crusts on or off is really up to you. I cut them off but ate them anyway because white bread is such a rare childhood-esque indulgence that I didn't want to waste any crumbs.

...

halloumi saturday

A weekend of little delightful discoveries so far. It's not often that you think I could really handle some halloumi and realise that you have some in the fridge. That was our wonderful find on Saturday, resulting in halloumi salad to accompany our sausages for lunch.

We also walked around the neighbourhood and discovered a little patch of wilderness just off a main road, a mending wall (just like in the Robert Frost poem), a viaduct and some glorious foliage. Then we treated ourselves to coffee at Le Comptoir, a cute little cafe in Annandale, that has fantastic sandwiches and bagels.

For my part, I rediscovered an old favourite - cinnamon toast, and also found a bunch of old Japanese fabrics and placemats that I had forgotten about, from our visits there. I'm looking forward to jazzing up our table arrangements with them.

...

keeping warm

A few quiet moments from the weekend. 

We went north to Newcastle for a family lunch on Saturday and had our hair whipped into a lather by the onshore breeze but enjoyed delicious coffees from our favourite place, Scotties, to warm us up and then a pretty damn nice lunch at Jonahs. Our niece stole the show with her considerable excitement at being able to enjoy both fish and chips and her magnetic elmo book simultaneously. The tomato sauce was a considerable hit as well. A favourite with me too. 

When we returned to Sydney, it was cold and so we indulged in vast amounts of comfort food. Vegetables will definitely be making more of an appearance this week! But first, tonight, I think spaghetti and meatballs may be on the cards.

Hope you all had a good weekend and are keeping well rugged up!