Friday 2 September 2022

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! 

16 comments:

  1. Gorgeous produce in your kitchen. How kind the lady was to think of sharing her fresh tomatoes in her time of sadness. Hope you have a great September :)

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    1. Thanks for visiting Moya, it was indeed so lovely of the family to be thinking of sharing their tomatoes even in such a difficult time

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  2. thanks so much for joining in this month. glad to hear Toronto is going well! love the produce and the bread. So sad about the young woman (40s is very young these days). Blue corn chips are great aren't they? so tasty. the curveball photo looks very serene. we all need a bit of green in our lives. have a good month!

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    1. Thanks for hosting religiously Sherry! I hope it brings you as much joy as it brings me :) I take so many photos of various things and this is the only time I kind of systematically look through them !

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  3. Near the lake it's a wonderful climate for tomatoes! We love Canadian produce as well as our closer-to-home Michigan produce. Your tomatoes are very much like ours, including the funny shaped yellow ones. I wish I could hear your music.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Mae there are some really nice things that are grown in Ontario and the warm months are so nice for enjoying them! Then winter comes and everything is imported practically. Nothing like a real peach :)

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  4. It's so wonderful that you are able to socialize and play your music again. The tomatoes and bread look gorgeous. I'm glad you are settled and it sounds like it is going very well.

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    1. Thank Liz for visiting! It is wonderful indeed that music is coming back to life again, the pandemic has been such a difficult time for everyone including musicians (professional and amateur alike!)

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  5. Everything looks so tasty and delicious. Glad that you are able to play your music again.

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    1. hi Marg, music is like the balm for all our sufferings!

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  6. You have given me several ideas for upcoming lunches with delicious tomatoes and artichokes, paired with that wonder brown bread. I very much enjoyed reading your post and wish I could enjoy the scenery of Toronto.

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    1. Hi Tina, tomatoes are really so versatile aren't they? I love a good simple lunch, nothing like a plate of things to pick at :)

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  7. Have a blessed time with all the family visits! Those blackberries look so juicy and what a lovely gift those tomatoes were. I would have been tempted to plant the yellow ones to see what grows :)

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    1. Hi Tandy, you are right that it would have been wonderful to save some seeds from those amazing tomatoes, as a way to maintain the Canadian legacy. Alas, I didn't think of it at all and they have all long been eaten....

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  8. Lots of lovely produce and bread. Those peaches look so wonderful I look forward to summer fruit. So nice all those tomatoes to remind you of your patient and I am so glad you are enjoying playing music with others again!

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    1. Thanks for visiting Johanna, peaches are really the best aren't they!

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