Apples

As promised, a few baked goodies to make use of the delicious apples from our tree. I got a little carried away and before I knew it I made pie, tarts as well as some raspberry and white chocolate muffins earlier this morning. The kitchen smelt so good as I was sauteing the apples for the tarts, it reminded me of my mums apple slice that my siblings and I have been asking her to re-create. I fear it's a case of forgotten recipe. For the pie, I played around with Nigel Slater's recipe calling for apple and blackberries. Not being able to bring myself to use lard for the pastry, I settled for Tartine's sweet pastry dough and used a handful of raspberries that I had in the freezer from picking late last summer. It was fun decorating the pie case with leaves. The tart was a little more time consuming, sauteing the apples in batches in butter and sugar, and then covering them with a sliced almond, sugar and egg white mix. Happy weekend!     

Busy times

With my brother's wedding last weekend and so much work to do, I haven't had time for baking these past few weeks. There was plenty of chasing around nephews and nieces, eating freshly shucked oysters and ripe green skinned figs on picnic blankets in between ceremony and reception. A perfect day. The apple tree in my backyard has been groaning under the weight of delicious apples. Light greenish yellow skin and not too sweet or tart, they are great for baking. I quickly made a batch of apple, walnut and maple syrup muffins this morning but I've been desperate to try something a little more challenging. I'm going to give Nigel Slater's apple pie recipe and go, and promise a follow up post by the end of the week. 

New work, old work

A fifteen metre warp all ready to be wound onto my loom. My week will be spent setting up and winding this on with the help of some friends.

After finally washing my carpet, I thought it would be a good time to photograph it. I lucky enough to take part in a two day carpet making workshop run by Mehmet Girgic at RMIT a few years ago. He brought over huge bags of naturally dyed tops that he expertly handled. I wonder what customs thought of this tall mustache sporting man with wool stashed into his luggage. I remember it being tough work. We set up on the floor, and spent most of that first day deciding on a design and then slowly filling it in. All work done on our knees. The second day was spent sprinkling, rolling and beating the carpets with warp soapy water, then a trip to the local laundromat to run them through a hot wash. I'd love to make a larger one, but considering the work that goes into smaller pieces, I'm not sure I will ever get there.

Felt is the oldest form of fabric, predating knitted and woven fabrics. So even before the Copts were weaving with flax, making beautiful garments, felt was used to create shelter in the form of a hut. Predating huts made of felt were those sewn together from animal skin. Felt in the right hands can be really beautiful and if those are Claudy Jongstra's, it is even more so. A trained fashion designer who now works on architectural, residential and art based work using wool she has harvested from her own flock of sheep and dyed using natural dyestuffs such as madder. Worth a look.

New work

Despite the cold Melbourne wind today, I managed to get a lot done and was so grateful for the sun when it appeared in the early afternoon. It was glorious addition to the day. My yarn has arrived and I'm going to wind the warp tomorrow. This sample was simply to test the technique, as the plan is to use a combination of baby alpaca and coloured cashmere. I wanted to keep the weaving simple and use beautiful yarn and colours that I haven't ventured towards before now. It is all a little bit of an experiment. My next project will be to give my pin board a lick of paint. It's looking a tad rustic, but for now I'm off to bake delicious lemon treats. Stay warm. 

Sydney Road

A much anticipated visit from a missed brother and his girlfriend was the inspiration for putting these up. Sydney road is dotted with empty shop fronts and signage dating from a time when Europeans were the new migrants and established businesses along this strip. It's often the little things that I love - hearing foreign languages being spoken, salty Lebanese pizza or squeaky cheese pie, coffee, dried porcini mushrooms, parmesan, pasta bought in bulk, nut filled sweet treats and lemon trees. I think it's time to make some lasagna! Perhaps I'll have to postpone that mammoth task until David gets here.  

Colour

Right now, I'm working on a small range of scarves for a friend's exciting new venture. The idea was to use bright colours in combination with a few different shades of grey and a pastel or two. I've been in the studio, working with paint and mixing up colours. This time I don't have the yarn to work from, just a small sample card. Learning how to mix colour was akin to sitting through a painfully boring lecture, but I must say those lessons inform my current practice. Colour choice is probably my toughest hurdle at the beginning of any work. The constant question repeating itself is; is it going to work? I guess you never know that until you sample. Yes sure, you can simulate how colours might interact with each other in Illustrator but sampling is about the only way of being sure. Yarn after all, is not flat. So I'm going with my instinct, ordering some beautiful coloured yarn and hoping it all comes together. While tidying up my storeroom/bedroom, I came across this. I swoon over grey and bright orange.  

 

Getting out of town

There is nothing like having a weekend off and taking a short trip to the beach. Especially if one is blessed with wonderful weather and there are events to celebrate. It was Helen and David's wedding part two, for which I made this cake. Part one took place in London. Called Devils Food Cake, it is similar in texture to a chocolate chiffon cake. I made this one with a caramel filling and covered it in ganache. Running out of time to make crystalised rose petals, the fresh ones worked a treat. Luckily the garden was full of beautiful blooms to choose from. The views and sunset were spectacular, the dancing fun but most of all it was lovely to be surrounded by friends and be a part of it all. I figure, there isn't anything in the world like fresh sea air. 

Melbourne skies

Standing on a balcony at a friends, surrounded by gums and watching the local bats setting off for the night, this sky presented itself. It was indeed a lovely evening, quite a contrast to the thunder and fat raindrops now falling. I'm hoping it calms down before I head out for a late supper and midnight gig in the city. Although I haven't had much time for weaving over the past few weeks, I have managed to fit in baking. Last night I made a sweet tart shell, filled it with pastry cream and covered it with fresh berries. I'm enjoying practicing my pastry skills and I'm getting better at making custard. Which reminds me - there is enough pastry in my fridge for another tart, perhaps for another present as February is filled with birthdays. It is never as much fun eating sweets alone as it is sharing, especially among friends and family.

Pero

I took this portrait of Pero in Pula when I visited family quite a few years ago. Although there are exciting things around the corner and plenty of work planned in order to get there, I've been feeling the itch to travel. This past week I've been playing around with old negatives in photoshop, all while wishing I had access to a darkroom to print them on fiber based paper. I've been keenly watching the progress of some of my studio mates who are building an analogue darkroom. I'm hoping it will be complete in a few months and I'll get to hang in the dark again.

Simple pleasures

I've spent the morning watching the news and I feel so thankful that I have food in the garden and family and friends that are healthy and happy. Yesterday's heat has all but gone this morning so I'm going to make the most of it. Today I'll be finishing off some hand made presents for friends as well as testing a cake for another's wedding. Called a devil's food layer cake, I'm imagining it will be similar in crumb to a genoise base, layered with caramel and chocolate ganache, then covered in a fine layer of cake crumbs. I haven't yet decided if the crumbs are too fussy, in which case, the ganache will do the honours. Topped with some fresh flowers, I think it will make a simple but beautiful wedding cake that is hopefully as delicious as it looks.