Blueberry muffins are staples of cafes, bakeries and take-away joints all around Australia, but often they’re stodgy and way too big. Hence my favourite blueberry muffins are homemade by me from a recipe I cut out of SMH years and years ago. It’s got the right muffin consistency but is light, moist, full of blueberry goodness, and cupcake size. The secret ingredient is natural yoghurt, which I think is better than buttermilk when making muffins.
Remember the time when sushi wasn’t sold at every corner, when eating raw fish was out of the question for the average Aussie? I remember tasting my first sushi and sashimi in the early Nineties while in Japan on a short exchange program. While I liked my first taste of sushi, I didn’t really think sashimi was anything to write home about at the time. It was just simply texture with not much taste, I thought.
How times have changed. I wouldn’t say that I’m a sushi/sashimi fanatic, but I do appreciate the good stuff. I don’t eat it often either, because to be honest good sushi and sashimi is a rarity in Sydney. A good sushi should be freshly made, with the freshest fish, and served at room temperature. A good sashimi is even rarer because it requires not only the freshest fish, but also the skill of the chef to slice it so that the flesh melts in your mouth. Add a little wasabi/soy sauce and pickled ginger, and it instantly becomes a feast.
The bottom line is, good sushi/sashimi doesn’t come cheap, but it’s worth every penny when you’re presented with a platter like this.
Lots of cultures make dumplings, in various forms, but no matter where you are, dumplings represent comfort food. Today I’m introducing dumplings from Shanghai and Northern China.
I was first introduced to these dumplings by a Beijing-born friend in my uni days. My first taste were of dumplings we had made with our own hands. They were minced pork with Chinese chive dumplings which we boiled and ate with her family. Dipped in a little black vinegar and chilli sauce, they are juicy and moreish.
I hooked from that day on. Luckily I studied at UTS at the time, and next door in China Town there were a few good dumpling restaurants. Later on, I discovered a whole load of places in Ashfield, which is where I took this photo.
Because my friend doesn’t eat pork we ordered fish dumplings instead. They are pan-fried instead of boiled, and are lighter than the pork versions, but no less delicious.
More interesting I think was my photo of these apple blossoms. I love the contrast of the soft pink against the clear, blue sky.
Unfortunately, that’s all I have from the orchard this year. I’ll have to look around for something else interesting to post about now.
Remember last year’s visit to Bilpin – the glut of apples, all ripe and ready to be picked. I was so intoxicated that I vowed to go back the following year. But things weren’t so rosy. The apples had been eaten by fruit bats. What survived their attacks had been damaged by hail weeks before. Hence the apples weren’t exactly so perfect, nor were there many to pick. BB and I however managed to pick 13kg, which were distributed to our families. There will be weeks of apple crumbles, tarts and pies to come.
It’s not only humans that love the sun. Princess Beagle has a knack of finding the sunniest corner of any space and plonking herself down to sunbathe until she is hot, hot, hot. Since her tongue isn’t hanging out just yet in this photo, we can safely assume that she’s not heading for the shade for some time yet.
While most people on the beach are taking their final walks, it’s only the beginning for the intrepid fisher-people. Sunset is when the fish start biting – when the crowds of swimmers and surfers have left the water. They come out with rods, buckets, easy-chairs and torches to settle in for the night.
I didn’t join them however – it’s time for me to go home.
I’ve walked past this patch of grass time and time again, but in twilight they become rather mysterious.
Time had ran away from us and the sun had just set as we stepped on to Umina Beach to walk the dog. Never mind, the colours – blues and violets at this late hour – were still fantastic to behold.
Since my geology excursion raised some interest, I’ve tried to find more examples. The next example was right on BB’s coffee table. It’s a plate made of some very special marble – Devonian age marble from Morocco, in fact (over 354 million years ago). And encased in the marble are marine fossils. Given that the marble was grey, I thought black and white was a better medium for capturing this.
Static and Silence 