Ingredients
As the daughter of a repressed European feminist making a new life in Australia I found myself repeatedly chased out of the kitchen and back to the study. The dream that my mother channelled through me was one of a new breed of independent and educated professional woman with the hope that every last drop of domesticated kitchen bound woman in my blood would be squeezed out of me. Fast forward 25 years – I am independent, educated (what ever that means) and semi professional, but ancestry is hard to shake. I work and then go home and spend most of my time in the kitchen trying to deliver the love that I have for my family in the form of a meal to the dinner table each night. It’s become a passion and I try to weave this tapestry of food, family and the happiness that comes from both into my own family home.
The difference (as I have explained to my mother) between me and the 50’s woman who was literally tied to her Wedgwood stove and Westinghouse Chill Box is that I have a choice. I choose to be a mother and wife and independent working woman. I choose to try and do all of it, except on Sunday mornings when I choose to pull the covers over my head.
Preparation
I troll the Internet for unique and obscure food websites. This has given us many interesting creations including a bright green version of beef casserole. I am not sure what the chemical reaction was that evening but thankfully no one needed to be taken to casualty as a result.
Recipe
So the passion comes not only from the love of experimenting with ingredients, spices, colours and textures but also from the belief that few traditions are more important in the world than that of gathering around the dinner table each night. It’s not just dinner time but an opportunity for us all to come together from our different directions and distractions throughout the day. The evening meal becomes a ritual where we can be fed and nourished and replenished from the demands of our hectic modern lives. I like to think that perhaps I am a conduit for the good ideas and love that come from those seemingly mundane gatherings and shared meals.
