My life, in a Poem…. its not by me.
Cant still believe I’m in print…. And that I got called an ornithological princess. I need to get that made up into a T.Shirt.
In all the time that we had been down at our riverbank - we had never seen a dolphin. Let alone a pod of about 30 of them. But when Amanda & Joe of Tasmanian Tuxedo came for life chats, and I took them down through the garden, to the beach kitchen and started a little fire, when this random dolphin 30+ pod from nowhere, turned up at dusk, and cruised right past us. Utterly mind- blowing.
Incredible - especially as I’ve never seen a pod of dolphins here since.
When they drove up to the house, the cake was still cooking and I had a mild panic on that I was late, but they guys are seasoned Tasmanians. And as is in Ireland, Tasmania doesn’t keep time or run to schedules. I love love that.
So, I wasn’t worried about how the cake was going to turn out as its one of my ‘go-to-save-me’ cakes. Nadines cake is in her Flour & Stone cookbook called “Lemon drizzle” - is a doozy of a cake, & her publication is probably my most well-thumbed & scribbled on book I own. I’ve made a fair few recipe from it now - all pretty bomb proof - especially this one.
But… I never follow her method anymore as I approach most successfully baking recipes, with more of that panic ADHD style ‘fuck I forgot to make something’ attitude. My idea of a perfect ‘go too’ cake- calls for mainly pantry ingredients to be at hand, thrown in a blender as they are found in the pantry and then it’s a ‘whiz+ pour+bake’ style methodology.
I know, I should really read the preparation steps. But in the last few years I’ve adopt the 70% effort is ‘good enough’ to most life projects & this cake passes with flying colours. Other mantras I use…
‘Done is better than not done’.
‘Failure is a part of the process’.
‘You miss 100% of the shots you never take’.
TIP: I permanently have long life cream living in the fridge door. For me the magic of long-life cream - besides lasting for more than 6 months in the pantry -is that once it’s chilled it comes out very thick, similar to a cream cheese consistency, excellent if you need quick table worthy cream to serve with cake. Keep room temperature ones available for pouring or whipping cream. For ages I got the Woolworths brand one - but thats disappeared in the last year. The Devondale long life one one has a screw top lid, so you don’t even have to use it all. I’ve often just recapped it and thrown it into the freezer if I think I won’t use it for a while. It defrosts fine.
The rest of the afternoon was spent sipping chilled homemade limoncello wandering around admiring the half finished cottage. We had a kitchen once, back in February - that was until late one night when I took a knife to it. It now is ‘the scullery’1 and we have been cooking between 2 rooms. One exists as a ‘tap off the wall over a bucket & a fold out market table’.
Just waiting for the trades ‘ducks to line up’. Honestly, I can’t believe how long this is taking - but then again… after waiting for 8 years for a stove to find the right spot - well then I can.
They waved me off, piling into the ute with a bottle of freshly decanted limoncello tucked under their arms back to Hobart. Fast forward from then to now, maybe a year later? I saw them was a week ago or so The Bowmont - at the launch of their beautiful finished journal called Tasmaniology with a host of other folk.
If you measure cake by the party… well the cake we had from The Hobart Cake Lady was simply splendid. I’ve had her cakes before, and even had one at a workshop I threw last year but this was was really quite a treat - A jet back frilly pipped 2 tiered sandwiched with fresh raspberries and stacks of cream. Brief was ‘The Black Tuxedo’ I think - and I still think about it.
Limoncello. This is my last recipe.2
But both of them really should really be congratulated - such an effort to produce such a beautiful read. All shot, written & printed here in Tasmania. And I’m honoured to be included with a gorgeous poem along side a host of very talented Tasmanian’s. Very very clever inspiring ones too. And too can purchase it too here.
In other random news.
I fogged off my tomato plants to my lovely Southport shack neighbours to look after grow - before I bought this little weathered cottage, I lived in a tiny 54m2 beach shack in the furtherest town south of Tasmania - He worked in Hobart town but on weekends he would be back down to fish / work on boats and tend to his large rambling 1 acre veggie patch. During the week I would skip the fence & go harvest myself dinner, weed the rows and collect ‘dirt pottery’ shards of century old plate china pieces that kept getting dug up.
area had this mysteries past and often you would uncover house footings on walks in the paddocks in front of us. Recently he retired, and now lives there full time, fishing, working on boats & growing veg and I’m thrilled that my new Agrarian Kitchen little tomato plants are getting tended by him till I work out my life big garden picture. I’ll be needing
garden plans guides in the future when I get to that stage. But until the stove goes in - nothing will be thought about that. I need to make sure theres enough in the kitty to make it all happen so the veggie garden isn’t much more than beyond sketching down ideas.Went to a Parks & Wildlife work ‘do’ at Harvest & Light and had the most lovely of meals (they only have Tasmanian liquor for sale - so its always interesting to see whats new out).
But I love some of their selection of chutneys & pickles - and there was this one particular dish had the most amazing zucchini waffles - I’ve since dug down found a similar recipe that works here - and the great thing with fritters is that you can make a large batch and then ‘reheat’ them in the toaster over the next few days with breakfast or a quick lunch. Such a good hack. Or just freeze them. Great when that overwhelming zucchini glut seasons starts.
Recipe below ⬇️
1 egg
1/3 cup of pecorino cheese grated
1 grated zucchini
A couple heavy tablespoons of self raising flour
Salt + pepper
Mix & dollop into a pot of boiling rice oil or spoon onto an iron make waffles.
Theres a saying around Cygnet that you don’t leave your car unlocked otherwise it will fill up with zucchini’s. When the glut happens in Tasmania - it really really happens. These fritters served with chilli sauce & yogurt are a real treat to during those times and for the classic wet feeder3
Short stories in recent Photos. I love the way a photo tells a billion things - thats why I loved instagram all those years ago and found a love in snapping the day to day life. This is essentially a journal for me in some ways. And it’s great that I can now link all the deals, tricks, connections & websites direct here. It’s really gold.
A short video from the morning of making jam, covering the tops with some beautiful material I've had for ages. I love this fabric, but collecting and piling it up often means it gets hidden - and therefor you don't use it. This market stall is on my glitterlist of things to do. I'm thrilled that it was incredibly fun and successful for both of us. Be both have said ‘Let's do that again.’ And so we shall.
To all who follow my little random life journey - I'm deeply appreciative of the incredible support from others on this platform and grateful for those who chip in and share this space with me. A massive thank you to everyone who crosses paths, both across this substack and in real life. And for all those who painstakingly read my newsletters, with all its grammar, shocking spelling, and 'frog in a sock' style reading, I'm thrilled that you stay here. I find that if I keep showing up, I can only get better, so thanks for persevering. For those new to this, if you'd like to test the waters, I suggest you do—there's not much to lose (just $5?), and then you can see if anything in these hidden pages resonates with you to continue staying.
Alternatively, if you have friends of similar values then maybe consider gifting this opportunity as well - do, especially to someone is at crossroads in working out their glitterlist in life. I find sometimes a single read of ones work can sometimes alter the course of one's journey, making all the difference. For just $5 a month, or roughly 80 cents a week—less than the cost of a soy flat white—you might discover a small trick to 10x of those savings. Regardless how you like to read this - I’m just happy you’re here. X LJ
The difference between a pantry and a scullery, is that scullery needs to be at least 1.6m x 3m to called as such. Anything less is a butlers pantry. It also functions as a mini functioning kitchen - hosting sink, fridge and storage and space to prepare food. A butler’s pantry’s purpose is for serving, prepping and storing essentials. Historically, a butler’s pantry was where a butler or cook would prepare meals before serving in the dining area, and a scullery is where an entire meal could be prepared before sending out to the kitchen.
To make limoncello 1)Thinly the zest from at least 5 lemons & try to not get the pith. I used a microplane. Pop into a widemouth jar & pour in 1 bottle of 750ml vodka and cap. Leave for 1-4 weeks (longer the better) but shake daily. 2) Boil till dissolved, 1.5 cups of sugar + 3 cups of water. Once cooled add the sugar syrup. Let this sit for at least a week (I left mine 2 months). 3) Drain and strain into bottles’. Drink when ever. But the longer it’s left the more mellow it gets. Leave in the freezer. Serve chilled little glasses after a good meal - or with mineral water on a hot day.
I used to sit in balloon chairs for a long table lunch in a grand house in Northern Ireland for Sunday lunch. We were then classified as ‘wet feeders’ or a ‘dry feeders’. ‘Wet’ meaning that you predominate liked sauces, dressings creams, condiments & Gravies that were more souplike/stew eating etc… or a dry feeder and hated anything that seemed drowned. I’m defiantly a a wet feeder.
A marvelous read, as usual JO. That poem is spot-on! x
Jo, that was a beautiful essay - words AND pictures, and makes your lifestyle the stuff of envy and admiration.