In My Kitchen: September 2022

The evenings are cooler now in Toronto, and that is how we know the seasons are changing! S is going back to Paris next week for the first academic semester. It is incredible to think that we have spent the summer together here, we have so many wonderful memories. Next week will be huge for us - his mother is coming from Italy and my father from Australia, everyone will be converging on Toronto! 

In the garden... well not my garden

My friend E visited Australia in March 2020 just as the pandemic was starting. My dad gave her some bitter melon seeds which she smuggled back to Toronto and she's been growing them on her little high rise balcony since. These are the 3rd generation Australian bitter melons. 

These blackberries were growing in my friend's bountiful backyard garden - look at how luscious and juicy they are!

Some wild raspberries I found in nature's garden, while walking in a random green ravine.. 

From my kitchen.. 

This loaf was baked on a day that S and I were not having a good time. I slashed the dough like a sad face and it turned out crying! 

A stunning spelt loaf with walnuts, the hands make it extra special

I just had to take a photo of these colourful mini carrots before I roasted them with a honey garlic miso glaze!

And the peaches in Ontario are just utterly glorious, we have been eating them every day in August.. 

Onto the tomatoes...

I had a patient in August whose mother kept on bringing in baskets of tomatoes from her garden. Her daughter was just in her 40s but dying from cancer. It's hard to imagine what she was going through, and it was extraordinary that she thought of thanking the staff this way. We snacked on the cherry tomatoes (a most peculiar shape and vivid yellow colour) and I took some home to share with S.  

One night we had pasta with these gorgeous tomatoes, artichokes and fresh basil. 

This was a fresh and piquant pico de gallo tomato salsa we made for a Mexican tortilla night with friends. I love the flavour of those blue corn chips too!

Something happened to this bread dough and I had to turn it into a focaccia which turned out great with (very) caramelised onions and juicy pops of tomato.    

Last but not least, tomatoes are wonderful just as they are, on top of some pasta, strewn with buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil from our balcony garden and a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Fresh tomatoes are THE BEST. 

Thank you to my patient who has since moved on to a better place, I will remember you and your mum's tomatoes.  

The food and music resumes

The pandemic was a very hard time for everyone. For me, one of the greatest changes was the difficulties with playing music. I met one of my closest friends E when I lived in Toronto in 2016 - 2017 and before covid, we used to travel together twice a year, meeting up in random places to play music. In fact, it was on one of these trips in 2019 that we went to Paris to play music with S, and that is how S & I met. It has been so wonderful getting to play with her again and also catching up with other music friends in Toronto. It is one of the best things about moving back here. One day we got this pandan chiffon cake / walnut chiffon cake from a Singaporean shop, a memory of when she visited me in Darwin and we got pandan chiffon cake from Rapid Creek Markets. 

In August, we played through the five middle Beethoven string quartets (the 3 Razumovsky quartets, the Harp and the Serioso) along with E's brother - a huge achievement! I have been playing mostly viola, which suits me a lot. Another weekend, we played string quintets with another friend joining us, the Mendelssohn string quintet no. 2 in B flat major which S played when he was much younger at music school. Our souls are parched after the isolation of the past two years, and music has been what we desperately needed to quench the thirst of our souls. E is also a wonderful cook, and here she stuffed some of her homegrown bitter melons with a tasty mixture of TVP and shiitake mushrooms. 

Finally, the curveball.. 

The last time I lived in Toronto, I had moved here from Sydney. This time, I came after living in Newcastle for 4 years. The difference is extraordinary - now I find that my soul constantly needs green and yearns for nature. I've been going into the ravine whenever I can, just so that I can try to recharge my soul. On one of my walks I went to High Park - some corners of it are really busy and popular, but other areas are totally deserted. What a magnificent green oasis in the middle of a busy city - here is the Grenadier Pond on a rainy day. 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings, who hosts the In My Kitchen series - thanks Sherry!