Broccolini

Brocollini first made an appearance at the farmers markets in mid August, and has been becoming increasingly abundant in the grower's stall ever since. I like cooking with it as it is a bit sweeter than normal brocolli, and seems to cook a little more quickly as well. I quite like broccoli stems.. but I would imagine if you didn't then broccolini might seem a bit unappealing.
It's just as well I like it, as I got a whole big bag of it from Yuri's sustainable produce at the Eveleigh Farmer's markets for $3!
This weekend I cooked it slowly with some leeks and butter and then baked it in a tart with some sour cream and homemade wholemeal pastry. It's also nice quickly pan fried and then tossed through pasta with oil, lemon, parmesan, anchovies and chilli. But lately I've just been loving parboiling it with some cauliflower and whatever other vegies I have, and topping it with tahini sauce.. yum!

Blood orange

Blood oranges started appearing at fruit stores in late August. I bought a few organic ones at Eveleigh farmers markets and added them to my usual fresh orange juice and they added a whole other dimension of sherbet-y goodness to the flavour.


The flesh looks so impressive when you cut it.. with so many variations of colour it's just begging to be drawn. So I had a lot of fun illustrating this one, and the reds deepened as I was drawing, perhaps as a result of being exposed to oxygen. I don't know.. I"m no scientist.. I just draw it and drink it!

A ray of hope!

I was very excited to spy cherry blossoms on sale at the eveleigh markets.. for me this is always the first sign of spring. And I'm not the only one to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My friend Emma over at Emma Jane Illustration saw some jasmine about to bloom, and my mum has seen the first ray of light hit her kitchen window sill.. the first stage of its long journey, which extends all the way through her loungeroom by the middle of summer.

Lazy winter afternoon

I spent a lovely afternoon drawing some winter vegetables, cooking and catching up on trance podcasts. All the while surrounded by the lovely fragrance of some early jonquils i picked up at the Eveleigh markets.

I drew some classic winter vegies: sweet potato, swede and tangello. I tried a new technique for these, drawing them on brown card, using pastels and charcoal pencil. I was very pleased with the result. I think having a combination of drawing styles within the calendar will give a feeling of depth to the illustrations.
Tangello


Swede


Sweet Potato

winter harvest

Check out some of the haul of vegies I got from the Eveleigh Farmers market this week. Boy am I going to have fun with these! Menu items I'm planning:
- spinach and lentil soup
- roast vegeable salad
- cauliflower and spinach curry

They will also provide me with a few key items in season for the month of June for my organic calendar. I will be drawing:
- fuji apples
- beurre bosc pears
- cauliflower (not shown)
- jap pumpkin
- leek
- silverbeet