Well, did I have fun with the Salad Days classes in November! Travelling to the Flinders Ranges desert in October inspired me with colours, textures and excitement at the thought of freshness in the middle of nowhere! The contrast of a prickly pear set against the red soil and the stunning outback sunset as a backdrop to kilometres of rocky outcrops. Upon the return to my kitchen, I created recipes for colourful salads to be used throughout the summer months, using peas, lettuces, radishes, baby cucumbers, fennel, watermelon and tomatoes. These salad vegetables were contrasted with waves of rainbow using feta, chive oil, avocado, herbs, the deep pink flesh of lightly seared salmon and the delicate pale flesh of lightly poached banana prawns. All of these items are still in season now.

To add to that!......we have a symphony of summer fruits. We can now dribble sweet peach juice down our chin - and smilingly embrace a juicy ripe white nectarine.... and look forward to the height of cherry season coming soon. Decorate your Christmas table with a large stemmed glass filled with cherries ensuring a 'spilleth over' effect. Using a foam cone, cover with foil and attach strawberries and Ferrero Rocher chocolates with toothpicks to create a tower of colour and after dinner treats. Berries are fab at the moment - set them in jelly and serve in martini glasses topped with spiced mascarpone. Make cordial from fruit puree (passionfruit, mango or rockmelon) mixed with sugar syrup and citrus juice - this becomes a handy base for cocktails, frozen daquiris or a jug of punch. Don't you just LOVE summer?!

To all of those who attended my 'Salad Days' classes and planning to make the Watermelon, Prawn and Feta Salad this summer: Eastern Road Quality Meats (Eastern Road, Turramurra) is now selling some of the range of Udder Delights cheeses from the Adelaide Hills, including the goats feta which I used and love. Alan the butcher also now has other gourmet items and smallgoods which will be very handy for the holidays.

On Saturday 27th Sept, 2008, I attended a glittering awards night at Darling Harbour to share the excitement of winners for the 2008 Food Media Club Awards. Little did I know that I, too, would receive an award! Recognition of my work from such acclaimed and talented foodies means SO much to me. I thank my husband, Rob, and sons, Vik and Tom, for being so patient and supportive over the last 6 years since I started Kitchen Jazz. They are sensational guinea pigs and reliable critics.

Here is a link to see the full list of winners:

Food Media Club Awards 2008

At last we have warm weather and some light rain – perfect for all those gorgeous spring fruits and veggies. Poking their sleepy heads through garden beds now are chives, tarragon, parsley, mint and coriander. When picking chives, parsley and coriander, ensure that you cut small bunches at ground level to enable new shoots to grow. There are so many ways to use these spring herbs to enliven a dish – chopped and folded through a curry or soup before serving – mixed with crumbs to coat fish, chicken or veal – in sandwiches and salads – or scattered over freshly steamed and buttered new season asparagus and chat potatoes.

Also in season is rockmelon (use it in salads with cress, rocket and ham); Northern Territory mangoes (the first mangoes to arrive in Sydney markets); broad beans (now is the time to eat them on their own or mixed through a risotto or pasta dish with chilli, olive oil and parmesan); and pineapples (select the Bethonga variety from Queensland – the sweet aroma will follow you home. Full of vitamin C and fibre. Dont worry if the stalky tops are cut off as these are used back in the plantation to grow more pineapples).

As mentioned in my classes, buy in season. It is cheaper and more nutritious. Feel the excitement of new produce available, especially if you are growing it yourself. With fresh produce at its best, keep cooking preparation simple and let it shine.

Enjoy Spring!

Ian and Liz Hemphill of Herbie's Spices will be conducting a Spice Tour of India in January, 2009. Here is a link to follow for information on this amazing tour:

Herbies Spice Tour Link

As I have mentioned before, I am a member of Slow Food and I enjoy reading about and participating in its activities and journals. The main message of Slow Food is to inspire people to think about quality, seasonality, respect for the earth and also fair food. One of the latest activities was the Slow Shorts film festival with prizes awarded to short films about food. They are so interesting to watch. If you log in to www.youtube.com/SlowShorts you will see the three winners. First prize was "The Market" which shows brilliant camera work. Make sure you also watch "La Tarte" which is a playful look at cooking a French plum tart.

As I sit here writing this, my toes feel like icicles and I can hear the wind howling outside. Baby it's cold outside! I could write a song.....! Winter produce is so comforting on a day like today. Root vegetables such as parsnips, carrots, onions, fennel, beetroot and potato all roasted together with stalks of fresh thyme and heads of Australian garlic is a winter's delight. Cauliflower is at its best - choose heads which are tight and white. Turn it into puree, gratin, soup, fritters or simply steamed with Asian greens. Cabbage is so tasty right now and perfect for slicing and adding to soups or braising with bacon and celery. Those knobbly Jerusalem artichokes - although they can be a little socially unfriendly, are delicious cooked in virtually any way you would cook a potato. Try them roasted, fried, boiled and mashed and keep their skins on for extra flavour and goodness.

The winter fruits are all perfect to cook and warm us through. The fabulous quince which with a little patience, can be poached into a heavenly, richly flavoured dish. Once you have peeled and trimmed them, include the skin and cores in the saucepan for a deeper colour. Oh for the cosy aromatic smell of rhubarb and apple cooking on the stove and pears baking in the oven. Yes, life is good.....even if my toes are freezing!

What a delicious day! We explored, tasted, listened, walked, laughed and experienced the pride of small family run businesses. Having just returned from Italy where I met with many families who have been loyal to their wine and food businesses for many generations, I was especially happy to see that family pride and loyalty still does exist here in Australia.

Our day in Haberfield filled our senses with fresh crusty bread, olives, ham which reminded us of our childhood (when ham tasted like ham!), cheeses, Italian wine, gnocchi (made on the premises and arguably the best in Sydney) and gelati which made us swoon and pucker with delight.

Joe from Peppe's Pasta gave us a family recipe to use with his ciabatta: Cut the loaf in half and spread the centres with olive oil, olives, parsley, garlic, chilli and anchovies. Wrap in foil and bake for approx 15-20 minutes.

Photos of the tour are on the 'Gallery' page of this website.

The 'In Store' section of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Living supplement featured an article on Silicone Cooking Bands on May 13, 2008. They are versatile, easy to use and a must for trussing, rolling and cooking on the bbq. Available at Kitchen Jazz for $10.70 as mentioned in my 'Shop' page of this website and in the following article:

Autumn has truly set in and many delicious winter fruit and veg are with us for a while now. All the citrus fruits are zinging and full of Vitamin C. Use the juice and rind of fresh oranges in your rhubarb and apple crumble for a lift. Macerate orange slices in a little syrup and liqueur and serve with warm custard.

Beetroot is in season and although it tastes fab purely on its own at the moment, it also lends itself to other flavours. Try it with duck, goats curd or mixed baked root vegetables tossed with fresh thyme and garlic. Leeks - Slice a couple of juicy fresh leeks and sweat them in butter, add a little chicken stock and cream, season and use as a base for organic chicken and mushrooms.

Oranges, beetroot, leeks, rhubarb and apples are in season which means that they are at their best - delicious, cheap and full of goodness.