the tomatoes

Dear Olive,
Shane had to go to the Sydney growers markets last week and buy $2,400 worth of tomatoes for a commercial. It filled to the hilt an entire van. I couldn't get over the ridiculousness of his job. And I couldn't get over just how many tomatoes there were.
Needless to say, two big boxes came home with him at the end of the shoot*, so on the weekend I got pretty busy. I turned one box into lots of jars of this Indian inspired chutney. It was doing my head in trying to get the proportions exact (I mean, how could I divide and multiply "6 tomatoes" by the amount I used? I'm no maths whiz). And I added onion to mine which confused things further. And also chilli. But it turned out pretty great! I've given away six jars of it, and Shane and I are committed to consuming the rest.
I also semi-roasted a big batch in a low oven with some garlic and herbs.
And still we're handing out small bags of tomatoes to friends and neighbours.
*I'm pleased to say lots of tomatoes (& plenty of other food from the job too) were dropped to OzHarvest.

what's in the box

Dear Olive,
Rather pathetically, having to put together the lunchbox every morning was one of the things I was anxious about before you started school. But with a tiny bit of pre-thought, it's actually been no trouble, and - dare I say it - enjoyable! (And let's face it, I'm at home at the moment anyway, so I've got it far easier than many.) 
I'm sure I'll laugh at my rookie enthusiasm in months (weeks?) to come, but for now I'll go with it.

| carrot sticks, avocado loaded on ancient grain sourdough, boiled egg, date, strawberries, chocolate chia seed pudding |

| leftover roast chicken, cherry tomato, dates, natural yoghurt with honey, grapes, boiled egg |

| strawberries, grain free buttered pikelets, grapes, cherry tomato, zucchini frittata muffins |

| grapes, strawberries, boiled egg, steamed broccoli, carrot sticks, mini meatballs, avocado on ancient grain sourdough |

..... and repeat!

the floury baker

Dear Olive,
One of the loveliest things about having Shane off work right now, is the number of meals we're getting to eat together as a family. We put away our phones and toys, put on some music, and try not to pay any attention to what you are - or most likely aren't - eating. (Your currently limited eating habits, however, are a whole other story!) This week has been extra special because we've had the delicious pleasure of dining on food from The Floury Baker, an online provisions store who now offers a home delivered dinner service. What a treat it was to find such a yummy package on our doorstep Monday morning! Anna Simamora makes all the meals with seasonal, Australian grown whole foods, without any preservatives or additives. The meals are frozen, then delivered to customers doorsteps all around Sydney. Anna's a professional chef whose food philosophy really resonated with me - she's all about flavour, texture, seasonal and sustainable produce. And her meals really do taste like hearty, home cooked food - albeit, hearty home cooked food cooked by a really great cook. (She also baked Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garners wedding cake once!) 
To celebrate the opening of their home delivery dinner service, The Floury Baker is offering free shipping on all orders placed before September 8 with the code dear olive. (Get the steak and mushroom pie! And the pork ragu! Actually, get anything, it's all good.)

weekend menu

Dear Olive,
We're going away with a bunch of friends this weekend (we're staying here - doesn't it look fabulous?). I'm looking forward to a few slow bush walks (I hope this weather holds!) and relaxing in front of the fire.  And possibly a spa. There's an allocated roster for food and we're on duty for one breakfast and one dinner. I'm thinking this lovely sounding baked fetta with walnuts and honey as a starter (or an afternoon snack) would be great. A friend made Pete Evans Balinese roast chicken and said it was the best chicken she's ever had, so I'll make that for dinner with a salad and roast potatoes. I haven't made a tarte tatin in years and I think it might be time again! Or perhaps a trusty Stephanie Alexander crumble? (I've always loved the ground ginger in her crumble topping.) I'm looking forward to enjoying a champagne, too! (For anyone interested, here's the ABA's take on drinking alcohol and breastfeeding.)
Happy weekend, friends.

soup

Dear Olive,
It's finally soup weather in Sydney! My gorgeous friend Ceinwen made us a sweet potato and corn soup when Clancy was born and it was so delicious that I got the recipe from her and made it yesterday. It came from one of the Moosewood cookbooks - if anyone is around my age and raised by vegetarian, hippy parents, they may remember Moosewood? The fonts and illustrations and everything about them are so nostalgic for me. One of the books is titled The Enchanted Broccoli Forest! (I'll be dusting off your Moosewood books and having a look next time I'm up there, Dad.)

Southwestern corn & sweet potato soup 
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 crushed garlic cloves (I used about 6)
1 small fresh chilli, chopped
3 cups stock (I used my chicken broth)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 medium sweet potato, diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 red capsicum, finely chopped
3 cups corn kernels
salt & pepper to taste

a squeeze of lemon, a dollop of yoghurt, plus some coriander to serve

Basically, simmer it all up, puree half the mix, add the toppings and voila! A beautiful winter warmer.

Yours, Mine

Dear Olive,
I'm always interested to know what other people feed themselves and their kids, so I thought I'd start sharing some of our meals. We try to eat pretty healthy over here, with limited refined sugar, or anything too processed. But of course, there are exceptions, like ice cream, or sausage rolls with loads of tomato sauce. But I think (I hope!), that it's ok to have the crappier treats sometimes if in general you're eating lots of the good stuff.
Anyway, for lunch today you were served up leftover roast pumpkin (cooked in coconut oil with salt, powdered ginger and turmeric) plus a boiled egg thrown in for some protein. (You and I each eat at least an egg per day.) Looking at the photo it looks a little on the meagre side! But you were super happy with it.

For me, it was leftover roast lamb, with (*gasp* store bought!) aioli, sweet sweet cherry tomatoes and lettuce on kamut bread toast. It was the tastiest sandwich I've had in a while.

I wonder what everyone else is eating?