Today's mid-week find is Esther Coombs from London. Esther purchases all her ceramic items from second hand charity shops, boot fairs and flea markets. Everything is hand drawn by Esther as she does not use transfers or other people to manufacture her work.

Esther likes to 'mix the old treasure and narratives these items possess with the new story' she then layers onto them. In doing so, Esther is contributing to the growing number of people out there focusing on re-design by using discarded items to thus re-invent anew!




Please note that Esther is having a January clear out Sale and most items are discounted between 10-50%. View Esther's Etsy Store to see her current range of one-off designs.

Alas all good things must come to an end (well so the saying goes), but not until you spend the last three nights of your well earned child-free holiday in the heart of Roma! On arrival Mr Man and I quickly checked into our gorgeous little hotel Condotti Palace on via della Croce and changed into some comfortable walking gear. With no time to waste we walked into a local bar and ordered two espressos as we needed the energy boost. Despite the protests we decided to take our coffee standing like the locals as we were not going to be duped by the smiling Roman barista! We then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening walking around Roma breathing in all things Roman - Piazza di Spagna, Fontana di Trevi, the Pantheon and Piazza Novona - sigh!

The following morning we decided to head out on foot to Campo dei Fiori as we wanted to check out Spazio Sette on Via dei Barbieri (we also needed to try and walk off some of that Maltese bread). As we approached the piazza we were thrilled to find that the market was still on. I urged Mr Man to whip out the camera and start taking photos (of food of course). We looked a right sight arguing amongst the morning shoppers as he wanted to take photos of fountains, roof gardens and steeples and I wanted him to take photos of roasted porchetta, salumi, mountains of cheese and countless fruit and vegetable stalls. But all that came to a stop as we clapped our eyes upon Forno Campo dei Fiori.





This was going to be my very first taste of pizza Romana and I wanted to savour it. So I sat myself down on the edge of the fontana for this memorable food experience. There is nothing quite like flat, golden Roman bread that has been baked in a traditional Forno (stone oven). It was light and airy yet crisp at the same time having been brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt (yes - the salt thing is a repeated theme)! Mr Man opted to have the pizza Romana topped with potatoes and zucchini flowers, whilst I chose to stay in the 'zone' and go with the tomato option. After we had both stuffed our faces we took one look at each other and without saying a word proceeded to walk straight back into Forno Campo dei Fiori and got another €10 worth of Pizza Romana. What can I say, walking makes you hungry!

For those of you in the UK who can't get to Rome just at the moment fear not as Spianata & Co the protégé of Forno Campo dei Fiori have five shops in London. Seriously, no thanks required instead please send me lots of photos of delicious Spianata bread!

I can't begin to describe how my heart does a dance this time of year at the sight of new season tomatoes that have been tenderly sun kissed and left to gently ripen on the vine. Not to be mistaken by those powdery, tasteless things that get passed off as tomatoes that are available in supermarkets all year round. No I am referring to those gorgeous, plump, juicy tomatoes that are often found at local farmers markets.



In September Mr Man and I spent three glorious weeks eating and drinking our way through Malta and Italy. While we were away I found myself craving tomatoes as nothing compares to sun blushed Mediterranean tomatoes. As far as I am concerned Maltese tomatoes are some of the best in the world. While we were in Gozo we would purchase our daily stash from the fruit and vegetable van that was parked in the middle of the piazza every morning. These tomatoes had been hand picked from neighbouring fields earlier that morning - talk about 'traceable food supply'!

A classic Maltese icon and something that will forever remind me of summer is Hobz biz Zejt - which literally means bread with oil. Sounds a bit bland I know but the proof is in the eating. Needless to say the only place to eat Hobz biz Zejt is in Malta during summer where you can then wash it down with an ice cold Kinnie. Of course the benefit to eating Hobz biz Zejt in Malta is that you get to use the local bread. Maltese bread is crisp and crusty on the outside and light and aerated on the inside and is still cooked daily in the village Furnar which is a stone built, wood burning oven.

Image source - Julian Calabrese (2008).
Hobz biz Zeit -Maltese bread with tomatoes, olives and mint

Recipe source - Ms.Gourmet

Every family has their own interpretation of Hobz biz Zejt, but this is the version I have come to know and love. For a great result use lush vine ripened tomatoes and good quality bread. When making this in Melbourne I  use either Irrewarra or Phillippa's bread.

Ingredients

A loaf of Casalinga, Ciabatta or Sourdough bread
4 vine ripened tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Green Olives
Capers
Fresh mint
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper

Optional Ingredients

Pickled onions
Tinned tuna in oil
Anchovies

Method

1. Drizzle some olive oil onto a plate

2. Slice bread thickly and dip one side of each slice into the oil.

3. Slice tomatoes in half then rub the cut side over the bread until its red.

4. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, topped with sliced olives, capers and fresh mint.

Good old fashioned peasant food that is well worth the 20 hour flight! Has anyone ever tried this Maltese national icon? If so I would love to hear about your experience.

Sunday is a day of rest, but one is still able to window shop. Here are some nice things for your table from one of my favourite design houses in Scandinavia - Iittala. Not only do they make beautiful things to eat, drink and cook with, but also believe in designing and crafting things that will last a lifetime. Hence, the growing movement 'against throwawayism'.

Tris Tealight Holder - Alfredo Häberli 2005
 
Origo - Alfredo Häberli 1999

I'm just trying to pinpoint the exact moment when I became enamoured with 'teatowels'. I distinctly remember avoiding them as a child, as I despised drying up the dishes after dinner. YES I was a pre-dishwasher child. Although we did get a dishwasher in the mid 1980's it was short lived. You see mum ran out of dishwashing powder one evening and didn't think twice about putting laundry detergent in the unit instead (but that's a whole other story). As a result it was back to drying up the dishes the old fashioned way - with a paljazza!

Seriously - I did not get up this morning and think 'today I am going to right about tea towels'. No I actually woke up this morning with a smile on my face after having a splendid dream about Daniel Craig. That got me thinking about that Emma Bridgewater tea towel, you know the one that says - 'I had a really nice dream last night about Daniel Craig'. The one Mr Man refuses to have in our kitchen, and I suppose my thought processes just snow balled after that!

So while I was mulling over Emma's witty tea towel my thoughts drifted to all those other designer tea towels out there such as the ones Cecily and Third Drawer Down produce. That got me wondering about the history and evolution of the humble tea towel (my mind is a mine field before my morning coffee)!

Anyway I thought I would take a quick look into the 'history' of the everyday 'teatowel', 'dish towel' or 'tea cloth' as some of you call it. Expecting to find zilch (as who in their right mind would bother writing about tea towels). Instead I found so much amusing stuff online that I just had to comment about it today as it is absurd what some people obsess over- moi included!

Hence, the word 'teatowel' first appeared in written record in 1863. Apparently in 18th century England households used a special linen drying cloth to dry precious and expensive crystal, dinnerware and fine bone china. It seems that 'tea towel' or 'tea cloth' was the cloth that was placed on the tea tray or tea table underneath the dishes used for serving and drinking tea. It then came to refer to the cloth used to dry the tea things after they had been washed. Some would argue that it does 'not appear that the tea towel ever referred specifically to the evening meal known as "tea" in Commonwealth countries'.  

So as you and your tea towel get a thorough work out post-Christmas take a moment to ponder its humble beginning. Tea towels around the world we salute you - ناشِف الصُّحون, 茶巾, utěrka, viskestykke, theedoek, nõudekuivatusrätik, astiapyyhe, torchon (à vaisselle), das Abtrockentuch, πετσέτα για στέγνωμα πιάτων, törlőruha, viskustykki, diskaþurrka, serbet cangkir, strofinaccio, ふきん, 행주, trauku dvielis, pašluostė, paljazza, oppvaskhåndkle, ścierka do naczyń, pano de prato, pano da louça, cârpă de vase, чайное полотенце, utierka! (Adapted from Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd).

This morning I woke up with that phrase running through my mind - 'the kitchen is the heart of the home'. In our family and in my extended family this is not just an 'expression' but a way of life, and what better time of the year to highlight and affirm this as a 'core' family truth.

As children my siblings and I were always 'aware' of food. We knew that food did not just magically 'appear' on supermarket shelves. I suppose watching dad tend to his sustainable vegetable patch in our suburban back yard gave support to that early realisation. We were also alert to the fact that food was a 'gift' and that we were fortunate and blessed to have it in abundance. This I guess was also a direct result of our parents having lived through the food shortages and rationing of post-war Malta.

I have always been conscious of the fact that I am the person I am today because of my collective genes and social experiences. But what is beginning to dawn on me is that my attitude and relationship towards food and respecting the 'source' is also a direct result of my upbringing. So with this in mind, I have purposely tried to not only educate my children with regard to language, grammar, history and geography but to instil into them a healthy 'respect' towards sourcing, preparing and eating whole food.

Sitting back and observing Little Miss Hoover yesterday in my sister's kitchen baking away on Christmas day warmed my heart because as far as she is concerned her aunt's kitchen is also 'her' kitchen. It goes without saying that my sister's pantry and fridge are also my children's pantry and fridge. Consequently her table is 'their' table, because in our family our attitude and approach toward food is that of a 'shared table'.

Excited children are now in bed. Tired parents have collapsed into a heap. Presents have been wrapped and are now under the Christmas tree. There are no more windows to open on the chocolate Advent Calendar because tomorrow is Christmas Day. The children have thoughtfully left a glass of milk and a box of Barbecue Shapes (don't argue with the 3 year old) out for Santa just in case he needs a 'snack'.



Every year I ask myself the same thing - where did the year go and how did this happen so fast? It only seems like yesterday that Mr Fussy was starting a new school year. And wasn't it just a couple of months ago that the Easter bunny paid us a visit and left way too much chocolate for a household of four to consume?



Tomorrow I will have my family around me and we will no doubt feast like Kings! Even though we have consciously tried to cull back the menu, food will be in abundance as it is a gathering of love. For in my family where there is 'love' there is a colossal amount of food!

Little Miss Hoover and Mr Fussy will open their umpteen presents - FINALLY! Our recycle bin will be jam packed to over flowing. All the unimportant cares and concerns and life's many stresses will pale into insignificance as we sit back and take in their joy as they unwrap their precious presents.



This year I seem to have got off 'Scot free' with regard to cooking. Christmas lunch in our family usually defaults to the token pregnant female. Well I am defiantly NOT 'with child' but my gorgeous sister miraculously is! So my worries about Christmas lunch have subsided somewhat as the joy of a new child entering our mad, crazy family has eclipsed all concerns - well almost! So tomorrow I not only look forward to Christmas day, but also to donning on my apron and doing something that I love - cooking in the kitchen with my sister and feeding our loud, hungry, joyous family!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Today I had a couple of hours to myself so I decided to pop into town and get the last couple of Christmas presents. I was on a specific mission and needed to get presents for two of my young nephews. Hence, after walking around aimlessly for an hour and a half around various toy departments picking up and then putting down assorted bits of Thomas, Bob and John Deere paraphernalia I suddenly felt quite overwhelmed by the task at hand and the growing number of people around me doing the exact same thing!

What was I thinking? Where had my common sense gone and what about my eCommerce prowess? As I fought my way past three hundred or so moaning children and some very frustrated parents stuck in an unmoving queue waiting to get a look in with Santa, I found myself in need of both fresh air and space. Forget the Christmas cheer, Santa's helpers and the string quartet playing carols in a lame attempt to lull shoppers into a false sense of consumer peace. I needed to get on an escalator and get out of there!
 
Moments later I found myself quite unapologetically at 'Food Glorious Food' in David Jones. Almost instantaneously my breathing began to regulate and my head began to clear. What about the Christmas presents for the nephews?  Blame the several hundred whining children for a start! That was enough to frazzle anyone's concentration and dampen ones joyful shopping mood. Not to worry boys your aunt will get things sorted in a jiffy with a little help from eBay!

At any rate, I was quite pleased to find in amongst all the other gourmet finds that David Jones have finally decided (quite sensibly I might add) to put a Cook Book section in Food Glorious Food. Ah - what better way to calm ones nerves then to flick through the latest cook book releases with a glass of wine and a wedge of taleggio? I had a quick flick through Jane Webster's new book 'At my French table' and Christine Manfield's 'Fire - A World of Flavour' before settling on Tessa Kiros' sumptuous book called 'Venezia' (it was marked down by 30%).

Image source - Tessa Kiros 'VENEZIA' (2008).

I come from a long line of women who understand the meaning of the 'sweeter' things in life.  To expand on that familial trait I should in fact say that I come from a long line of sensible women who appreciate the need and importance of cake! We not only like to have our cake and eat it, but have also perfected the art of coffee and cake. For me that could be an early morning café au lait and warm brioche at Filous'. Or mid morning rendezvous at Sugardough Panificio & Patisserie for a cappuccino and bomboloni. And if the need arises mid afternoon it's off to Sweet Source for an espresso and slice of Linzer torte.



I love my cake and coffee and this practice has now become one of the food 'rituals' I share with Miss Hoover and Mr Fussy. I have consciously passed on this custom to my children, thus from an early age I have dragged them to café's all over town to do 'cake and coffee'.  Mr Man has glibly suggested that maybe this has more to do with my need to gather allies as opposed to passing on tradition. Whatever the reason today marks the beginning of six weeks of school holidays in Melbourne and I suspect there will be a fair amount of café hopping for me and my fellow collaborators.

Little Miss Hoover woke up this morning with one thing in mind - chocolate! Well if truth be told she has had chocolate on the brain for the last twenty one days as she has been counting down the days until Christmas with the help of her chocolate Advent Calendar.  I don't know if it's just me, but I am finding it more and more difficult as the years go by to find simple, traditional nativity Advent Calendars. Thank goodness for Jacquot Chocolatiers as they seem to have resisted the urge to bow to popular culture in choosing not to produce ridiculous Barbie, Bratz, Ben 10 or Spiderman Advent calendars that have nothing to do with a manger in Bethlehem.

Anyway - back on to chocolate and all things Christmas. Little Miss Hoover asked if we could put on our aprons and do some baking today. When I asked her what she wanted to bake she looked at me and replied 'chocolate torte of course'. History has proven that it is utterly futile arguing with a three year old so chocolate torte we did make. That plus the fact that I love anything that calls for huge amounts of butter and chocolate to be 'melted over a slow heat until creamy'!

Today we thought we would try something completely different and take the children to the Vegie Bar in Fitzroy for lunch. Mr Fussy is familiar with the concept of vegetarianism as both his aunt and uncle are non meat eaters. Little Miss Hoover on the other hand was struggling slightly with the concept as she is a natural born carnivore. So before we set out the door we gave both the children the condensed version as to 'why' some people choose not to eat meat and allayed their collective fears that they would not starve, as we would find something appropriate for them to eat from this funky, hip bar.

For those of you unfamiliar with this Melbourne icon the Veggie Bar began sixteen years ago as take way food shop and has since expanded to a restaurant that now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Veggie Bar started as an 'ideal' and has since grown in many ways and is quite active in its local community. The Vegie Bar aims to 'give back to local non profit organizations, schools, and neighbourhood groups, especially those that promote health and wellness and support our children'.

So with that all that in mind we set off for our lazy Saturday lunch. As parents we think it's important to challenge our kids in a non threatening manner (well most of the time) to try new things. I must say that our girl aka Hoover is amazing and often chooses to blindly shove things into her mouth and ask questions later. Mr Fussy on the other hand can be extremely painful when encountering new things and food is no exception. While his sister could find herself hoeing into a bowl of lemon and red lentil soup, Mr Fussy will be sniffing his iced water to make sure we have not hidden anything in it.

On this occasion we were greeted by a friendly waitress who was quite welcoming towards the children (always a good sign) and handed us all a menu despite our girl being illiterate as she is three years old. Our son breathed out a huge sigh of relief (he can read) when he saw that pizza and chips were on the menu. I then found myself exhaling slowly and thinking that this culinary excursion was proving to be a positive step towards the children's wider education.

Hence, when the waitress came back to take our orders I was completely thrown when Mr Fussy asked for Parma and chips. For those of you unfamiliar with the colloquial term 'Parma' - I am afraid my son was not referring to Parma ham from Parma, Italy. No he was referring to his standard, fool proof, default order that he has been ordering ever since he could order off a menu - chicken schnitzel covered in napoli sauce, smothered in over processed mozzarella cheese which is then grilled to perfection - standard Australian pub fare! Upon hearing this, little Miss Hoover followed suit and insisted that she would have the fish and chips option which is her default meal when dining out!

All this talk about Panettone is not good because it has set me on a course that I was hoping to avoid this year. But I am afraid that now that I am on the 'festive food' wagon there is no hope of me getting off until at least mid January! What could possibly top Perbellini Panettone you ask - mince tarts! Well maybe not top, but come pretty darn close. And when I say mince tarts I am not talking about those inferior impostors that you find in Bakers Delight or the likes, but rather the only mince tarts that I think rate a mention in Melbourne are Phillippa's mince tarts.

I have eaten a great many mince tarts in my time and am eternally grateful that they are only available this time of the year, other wise I would need to live on a treadmill!  I think I am on my way to having almost eaten 1000 mince tarts in my life time (not all at once). How did I arrive at that number? Well conservatively speaking, if I eat two dozen mince tarts a year and then times that by 30 years, you get way too many mince tarts for one person. But the upside is that this amount of consumption must make me some kind of 'authority' on the subject.

Jocelyn's Mince Tarts

I absolutely love this time of year for many reasons, but high on the list without question is panettone - the 'Prince of Christmas cakes'! Panettone comes in various sizes and I find that they make the perfect gift for friends, school teachers and neighbours. When I say panettone I am not referring to just any panettone, but the only panettone worth mentioning - Perbellini panettone! Unlike the mass produced panettone's that are readily available in shops as early as September,  Perbellini panettone are available from November onwards because they are baked when the weather cools in Veneto, which often is as late as October.

So this morning I made my mad dash to Enoteca Sileno in Carlton North and after having a lovely chat to John Portelli about the ins-and-outs of Perbellini, came home with Perbellini Panettone, Pandoro and a box of Sfoiade al Burro (as one can never be too organised). The ornamental packaging of the Perbellini Panettone from Veneto in Italy ooze with decorative virtue, and I'm afraid unless you share this particular attitude towards first-class quality panettone I'm just going to come across as another woman with cake 'issues'.

Just recently my sister and I went on a two week crazed search to find the perfect salt pig. You see I love salt and can't cook without it and therefore needed the perfect vessel to house my fine salt. There are some wonderful products available on the market at the moment but a couple worth mentioning would have to be Maldon Smoked Sea Salt, Fleur de Sel de Camargue and Halen Môn Salt.  Interesting to note that Mr Fussy also shares his mothers love for sea salt - oh well there may be hope for us yet!

One would think that going to the supermarket and buying breakfast cereal for your children would be a straightforward task? Such a simple undertaking for thousands of other parents has become a bothersome chore of late, one fraught with a great deal of angst and frustration. My daughter affectionately known as 'Little Miss Hoover' (because she eats anything and everything in sight) has eaten the same cereal for breakfast since the advent of solid food. My son 'Mr Fussy' on the other hand tries to avoid breakfast altogether because he does not like cereal, eggs, toast or anything for that matter that would fall into the 'breakfast genus'.

Mr Fussy is of school age and needs to have breakfast for several reasons. Firstly because Mama said so, and secondly, his teachers have deemed it necessary because it's a proven fact that food aids concentration. Needless to say we have gone over the reasons as to 'why' breakfast is the most important meal of the day at least a thousand times.

Thus, after much trial and tribulation Mr Fussy has discovered, with the gentle persuasion of both his parents, Wild Oats Cluster Crunch. Hence, this is a good thing for us because Mr Fussy eats the clusters at record speed with little or no nagging. The extra bonus for all concerned is due to the clumping nature of muesli clusters, as a myriad of goodness is hidden there within!

'To blog, or not to blog' that has been the question for some time now and I suppose the sheer fact that here I am signifies both my response and resolve to that question. To those nearest and dearest to me who ask 'why blog and why now' well the answer to that is quite simple - I needed an outlet, a place of my own where I could vent my gastronomic spleen, explore idea's and open myself up to new possibilities. The other real issue is that I have been aware for some time of my ardour towards all things food related. So rather than continue to bore and burden you and potentially run the risk of sounding passé, I thought that this platform - 'blogging' (there I said it) may serve us both well.

I am not a chef or professional cook. My qualification is that I love to eat and I firmly believe that one can't ever cook well unless you love food and in turn eating. Not only do I love to eat and cook, but I also love to read
cook books, flick through food magazines, watch cooking shows and trawl through food related websites. Sad I know but what can I say - I am 'Food-Centric'. That's why I suppose I prefer to utilise precious shopping time hunting down exceptional ingredients, explore gourmet food stores, cheese emporiums, boutique bakeries, gorgeous cafes and exclusive delicatessens. Finding the latest kitchen gadget, vintage enamel ware and perfect blend of coffee has also proven to border on neurotic.