Recipes in the Mail Sydney Afternoon Tea - August 2023

Kath September 14, 2023

Last month I had the great fortune to host the lovely Amy Minichiello to celebrate her cookbook Recipes in the Mail with an afternoon tea filled with baked goods from the book and a room full of wonderful like minded people.

When Amy’s book was released, and I saw she was doing a launch event down on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria I dearly wished I could attend. I knew I couldn’t have been the only Sydney-sider thinking the same thing, and asked Amy if she had any plans for book events in Sydney. Amy mentioned something was in the works for an event outside of Sydney much later in the year, and I insisted she must do something else before then, and to let me know if she wanted help organising.

Not long after, Amy messaged both myself and Dimi (@celebratebydimi who also owns the linen brand Inspired Table), asking if we had any ideas for venues etc for a Sydney based event to celebrate the launch of her book.

I suggested we could use my family’s home, as we had enough space for a few people and Amy could have access to a kitchen to bake all the treats from her book. I was so happy she agreed, and the three of us went on organising all the elements of the afternoon such as date, time, what costs we needed to cover and most importantly, which recipes we would make from Recipes in the Mail to share with those who chose to join us.

The day before the afternoon tea Amy and her Mum Lisa (after many delayed and cancelled flights from Melbourne!), arrived and we got to baking!

We had decided on making My Grandma’s Pavlova (p.46), Ma Lyn’s Fruit Slice (p.71), Nana Bebe’s Simplicity Chocolate Cake (p.82), Aunty Linda’s Milk Tart (p.97), Nonna’s Jam Rolls (p.101), Aunty Tricia’s Ginger Fluff (p.104), Granny’s Scones (p.111) and Nanna Joy’s Sausage Rolls (p.151).

Amy and I got to making everything, and Dimi made Nanna Joy’s Sausage Rolls and dropped them off - they were the most perfect looking sausage rolls I have ever seen! Dimi also left some of her lovely linens with us from her brand Inspired Table so they could be sold on the day. The apron Amy wears in the images in her book is one from Dimi’s collection, and it was so nice to see them in person as they are just gorgeous.

It was really lovely to share our kitchen with Amy and Lisa, Lisa also did an amazing job at arranging flowers to decorate the table for the afternoon tea. As Amy said her in recent blog post about the afternoon tea, it was wonderful to share a kitchen with someone as mostly we bake alone. Amy and I had known each other for a few years via Instagram, but had never met in person before the Saturday! It was a real treat to bake together and catch up in person.

Ma Lyn’s Fruit Slice and Nonna’s Jam Rolls

The next day the last minute things were done, mostly without much help from me as I was in the midst of a migraine attack and could barely communicate or function. Amy and Lisa got a real insight into what my life is like most of the time! Everyone including my Mum got everything ready, and all I had to do was top the Pavlova I’d made the evening before, with cream and strawberries (which had been prepared by Amy and Lisa - if only I always had this many people to pick up the pieces when a migraine attack strikes).

Kath with her Pavlova ready for cream and strawberries

Our guests patiently waited at the gate while the last things were done, and once they were opened everyone walked down the garden path to the room we had filled with cake, tea, cookbooks and flowers.

It was really nice to see people I’d only known via Instagram, or catch up with those I hadn’t seen for a long time, as well as meet a whole lot of new like minded people - everyone was there to support Amy and her cookbook, and have a joyful afternoon with lots of cake.

Amy and I also had a little interview so we could all learn more about how Recipes in the Mail began and how to book came to be. When I asked Amy about how the initial idea for Recipes in the Mail came about, which started with putting a call out on Instagram for people to send their family recipes to Amy via the post (and there was no intention for it all to become a book at that time!), Amy said it came from a desire to connect with people, and to preserve family recipes that might have otherwise been lost.

Amy and our table of baked goods from Recipes in the Mail

In terms of deciding which recipes made it into the book once that portion of the Recipes in the Mail journey came to life, a lot of it came down to whether a recipe had any copyright issues (i.e. had already been published in a book or online), and whether the recipe turned out well when being tested. We also might have established that there are more recipes to share, so maybe we’ll see a second Recipes in the Mail cookbook in the future (no pressure Amy!).

We discussed which recipe from the book that wasn’t already a family recipe within Amy’s family, had become a new family favourite. Amy and her family love Catherine’s Grandma’s Pikelets on page 22, shared by Catherine Redman. Amy’s kids love them and sometimes have them in their lunchboxes. Amy’s eldest is also starting to have a go at making them too (heavily supervised of course!).

We then spoke about actually getting the book published. A large part of the cookbook publishing process for any prospective cookbook writer is either finding a publisher or committing to self publishing. Amy knew self publishing wasn’t an option at that time for her, so she set out finding a publisher who would see the value of this book and to help bring it to life. Amy said it was difficult to stay motivated during this time as there were many times she felt the book wouldn’t be taken on by a publisher. She said the support from people via Instagram who believed in Recipes in the Mail and wanted to see it as a book really helped keep her motivated. The support and advice from mentors like Belinda Jeffrey and Julie Gibbs also proved pivotal in getting Recipes in the Mail published.

That community of people online, who wanted to see Recipes in the Mail as a cookbook they could hold in their hands and cook from in their kitchens was essential to Amy bringing this cookbook to life. As one attendee said, this community of people is because of Amy - we were there that Sunday as we felt a connection to Amy, and to her cookbook. Amy has an amazing ability to connect with people and to make people feel welcome and seen. That sense of community radiates from the Recipes in the Mail cookbook, through the stories shared and the recognition of names above the recipes, maybe people we ourselves know via social media.

The best piece of advice Amy felt she received during the process of getting her cookbook to publication, was not to give up. Amy acknowledged it is always easier said than done, and imposter syndrome will likely try and get in the way, but it is important to keep going and not be hesitant to ask questions. Amy found many people she made connections with over social media were happy to answer questions she had and give her a little of their time. Amy also said that creating a community via social media was key to bringing these kinds of projects to life. Amy also talked about the fast paced nature of publishing once the book had been accepted, and how if she were to work on another book that knowledge would help her plan for a tight and busy deadline period.

I then asked Amy about what her hopes were for her future work in food, and Amy instantly said she wanted to do ‘more of this’ - in person events, connecting with people in real life and hosting people in her home. Since the day of the afternoon tea fell on Amy’s birthday we were all able share that with her in person, as I surprised Amy with a giant birthday biscuit topped with lit candles (very much helped by my Mum).

I made a giant biscuit as I thought there was probably enough cake to go around that afternoon, and it was something people could take a little home if they wanted. It was so nice to celebrate not only Amy’s cookbook but her birthday as well, on a cake filled day with so many lovely people.

Once all our guests left for the day, we began the clean up and stored away the little food that was left over. Amy and I stood and ate pieces of my Grandma’s Pavlova, and expressed how wonderful the event had been. We lamented having to say goodbye so soon, and expressed hopes that we could do this kind of thing again sometime soon.

If you don’t already follow Amy on Instagram I highly recommend you do. Amy’s cookbook Recipes in the Mail is available at all good bookshops or via her online store. I also highly recommend you take a look at Dimi’s linen range via her brand Inspired Table.

Dimi very generously gifted me one of her aprons that weekend, and it is most definitely the nicest apron I’ve ever had! When I said it was probably too nice to use, Dimi assured me it can withstand a lot and washes up really well. I have gotten into a bad habit of not wearing aprons when I am baking, so I’m hoping I can change my ways with this lovely new apron!

Monday Morning Cooking Club @ Cornersmith + Challah with Egg and Onion

Kath June 25, 2018

Earlier this month I went to a cooking class at the Cornersmith Picklery with the Monday Morning Cooking Club (MMCC). The class was all about Jewish Comfort Food, and the day the class was held was so cold it was a perfect day to be cooking and eating warming comfort food. We all sat and watched three of the lovely MMCC ladies demonstrate each dish, then we got to sample them.

First we ate egg & onion dip with challah, a staple at the Friday night table. I have been wanting to make challah myself for years now and just never got round to it, but with the amount of it I eat I really should have had a go! The egg dip was super simple, boiled eggs grated and mixed with onions cooked until they were soft and golden with little salt and pepper. The combination doesn’t sound much, and this is probably why I’ve never tried making it before, but it was heaven. I knew I would be making both these things, very very soon.

We then had matzo ball soup, a traditional dish of Passover. I made some of my own over the Passover/Easter long weekend this year, and it was nice, but the MMCC’s one was so much better. I had used a recipe in Ottolenghi’s book Jerusalem, because it made a smaller quantity and used more herbs which I hoped would add more flavour to the soup. But I will definitely be using the MMCC’s recipe next time, as mine didn’t have nearly as much flavour as I had hoped.

We then ate brisket with a salad. Now, I haven’t eaten red meat in at least 20 years - I have never been able to stand the taste and the texture. But I did try the brisket and I didn’t mind it. The sweetness of the honey and caramelised onions was really nice, and sliced really thinly I could imagine myself eating it on a really good reuben sandwich.

Then came the Blintzes, a dish often served during the festival of Shavout. Consisting of individual crepes filled with a cream cheese filling and then baked with more cream, it was a decadent dessert and definitely worthy of the title comfort food.

As the MMCC ladies were making each dish, we heard tips and tricks they had for each recipe, sometimes learnt from the person whose recipe it had been originally or things they had worked out themselves after making it many times. The stories behind each dish were fascinating to me, as I love the history of food and the preservation of heirloom recipes. Which is of course in part why I love the MMCC so much. The stories contained in each of their books are just as interesting to me as discovering the recipes held within each book. Then the recipes themselves have opened up a whole new world of cooking and flavours for me and my family, that we now can’t live without.

To that end, and after being inspired by this wonderful class at Cornersmith, I decided the following weekend that it was finally time to make my own challah and serve it with egg and onion. Since I was cooking only for me, I made a much smaller quantity of the egg and onion, and once the challah’s had cooled I sliced them up and placed each loaf in a zip lock bag and froze them. I found they defrosted really well, and of course toasted really well too. The egg and onion also keeps well in the fridge if stored correctly.

Here are links for the MMCC’s Challah recipe and the egg and onion, but I have also included my paired down version of the egg and onion recipe here - something I have since gone on to make 3 times in about 2 weeks! For this recipe, the idea is to cater for one egg per person.

Egg & Onion

Ingredients:

x3 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 small/medium brown onion

2 tbsp vegetable oil

salt

ground pepper

Method:

Peel and dice the onion, and heat the oil in a small fry pan. Add the onion and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is nice and soft and golden in colour.

Meanwhile, place the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold tap water. Bring to the boil on a high heat, and continue to cook for a further 8 minutes once the water comes to a boil. The eggs should not be boiled for longer than 8 minutes. Once the eggs have cooked for 8 minutes transfer to a bowl of cold water.

Once the onions have finished cooking, take them off the heat and set aside.

When the eggs are cool enough to handle peel away the shells. Using a grater sitting in a wide but shallow bowl, grate the eggs into the bowl using the coarse side of the grater. Add the cooked onions to the eggs, allowing most of the oil to remain in the pan. Add a pinch of salt and ground pepper, and mix with a wooden spoon until combined and the salt has dissolved.

The mixture should lightly hold together if you try to roll it into a ball with your fingers, so if it is too dry add a little more of the oil from cooking the onions.

Serve at room temperature with slices of challah.

If not serving immediately, cover the egg and onion with plastic wrap ensuring the wrap is touching the mixture and directly covering it, not just covering the bowl.

Left overs can be kept covered in the same way in the fridge, and will last a few days.

These recipes can also be found in ‘Monday Morning Cooking Club - The Food, The Stories, The Sisterhood’ by Merelyn Frank Chalmers, Natanya Eskin, Lauren Fink, Lisa Goldberg, Paula Horwitz and Jacqui Israel (HarperCollins, 2013), pp.78 & 263.

My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018 + Quince Scones

Kath June 18, 2018

Last month I attended the first ever My Open Kitchen Gathering in Orange NSW which was hosted and organised by Sophie Hansen of the blog Local is Lovely. The My Open Kitchen project stemmed from Sophie’s Rural Woman of the Year win in 2016 and encompasses an e-course, podcast, workshops and now this Gathering. All are focused on the food and farming community and learning to bring social media into the fold to make better connections.

The My Open Kitchen Gathering brought together ‘IRL’ all the things that are taught in the e-course and that are spoken of on the podcast, with a series of panel discussions from some super interesting women in the food/photography/social media space. The keynote speaker for the day was Sara Taster of the blog Me & Orla. Coming all the way from the UK to speak, having Sara there was like an amazing private live episode of her podcast Hashtag Authentic. Sara spoke eloquently on her Instagram and small business journey, and about how we all have a unique and unrepeatable opportunity in life as each of us are unique and unrepeatable.

My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018, held at the Old Convent in Borenore NSW.

My Open Kitchen Gathering 2018 - The final panel discussion of the day

The day also brought together lots of ‘Insta-friends’ and My Open Kitchen e-course friends, and it was so great to finally meet these lovely ladies in person and catch up with those I’ve met at previous workshops. As My Open Kitchen has a heavy focus on farmers and producers, there was a little marketplace where attendees could sell some of their produce/wares during the lunch break on the day. I was particularly interested in the dried quinces sold by Sue of Singing Magpie Produce. After being in the same e-course group as Sue late last year, I had heard a little about her products and was very intrigued by the quinces. I managed to sample a little of the quince - which was absolutely amazing, but missed out on buying a packet. A week or so after the Gathering I ordered some online and eagerly awaited their arrival.

When my package from Singing Magpie Produce arrived it made my week. I was having a particularly bad week having been bed ridden after complications from a procedure in hospital I had the week after the Gathering. The quinces are a deep burgundy colour and have a slightly sticky texture, not all shrivelled up and bone dry like dried fruits from the supermarket shelf. I kept them in my room for a few days as an emergency snack until I was feeling better and was allowed to move about again. I then began thinking about how I could bake with them. The below recipe for quince scones is what I came up with. I figured if dried dates and sultanas can go in scones, then why not these?

Quince Scones

Ingredients:

450g self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

200ml cream

125ml sparkling water

2 tbsp lemon juice

80g dried quince, chopped into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

unsalted butter, to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper, and dust a little flour over the top.

Place the flour, icing sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl, and sift over the baking powder. Using a whisk mix the dry ingredients together.

In a jug, quickly and briefly whisk the cream, water and lemon juice together, then add to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped dried quince and mix together with a flat bladed knife, then turn out on to a lightly floured bench. Lightly knead the dough to bring it together, then press to dough out until it is 2-3cm thick.

Using a 4.5/5cm cutter cut out rounds from the dough, dusting the cutter with flour if the dough sticks too much. Place the rounds on the prepared tray, leaving no gaps in between each round. Bring the dough back together and continue cutting until it is all used up.

Brush the tops of the cut scones with the beaten egg ensuring only the tops are covered and it doesn’t drip down the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and puffed. Turn the tray around in the oven about halfway through so they cook and colour more evenly.

Serve warm with the butter.

Makes 18-20.

Reference: ‘Bill’s Basics’ by Bill Granger (HarperCollins Publishers, 2010), p.50.

Challah Doughnuts with Blood Orange Glaze - made by Molly Yeh

Local is Lovely Workshop, July 2016 - A Photo Recap

Kath September 1, 2016

I feel like I'm always saying this, but it's been a while since I posted anything here. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen what I've been up to in the past month or so, including attending another wonderful weekend away at a Local is Lovely Workshop.

I was lucky enough to attend the first ever Local is Lovely Workshop back in November 2014 (posts here and here), and always knew I wanted to go back. When I saw Sophie (Local is Lovely) and Luisa would be teaming up with Molly Yeh (My Name is Yeh), I knew this was a best opportunity to go back to Kimbri Farm. Meeting Molly, and all the other workshop participants was just super lovely. I never tire of meeting new like minded people and listening to how food and photography intertwines their lives. I also never tire of Sophie's amazing food, and the wonderful opportunity of being in the country and having an amazing setting to relax in and shoot great photos (almost no styling needed!).

I have included a few of my favourite photos from the weekend, and yes, those blood orange challah doughnuts were as good as they looked (Molly has the recipe on her blog just FYI!)!

I would also like to recommend a really great podcast called My Open Kitchen, put together by Sophie Hansen and Skye Manson, which has just released it's first episode. During the first episode Molly is interviewed (which was recorded during the time she was here for the workshop), and its a really great interview. The whole podcast is great to listen to and I for one loved listening to it on the train home from work - a much more enjoyable ride than normal!

Apart from spending time at amazing workshops, I have been working and trying to enjoy baking in our new kitchen as much as possible. I have been in the kitchen so much that I have hardly been on the computer (to edit photos and write blog posts!), in a few weeks! I do have recipes in the works and things ready to post here, I just can't stand spending the whole weekend on the computer and not in the kitchen! Especially as I have four months of not cooking to make up for!

Anyway, I have some delicious things coming to the blog soon (or my version of ‘soon’, I should say), including a blood orange cake which I am quite excited about. I made it a couple of weeks ago and I’m pretty sure I ate most of it myself, which when you see the cake you will understand the seriousness of that statement!

For now I’ll leave you with my photo recap of the wonderful weekend that was the Local is Lovely Workshop. Don’t forget to check out my Instagram and Instagram Story for what I’m up to in the kitchen in between blog posts!

Rhubarb & Olive Oil Cakes - Made by Molly Yeh

Molly icing her cake with tahini buttercream

Molly decorating her cake - complete with a marzipan kangaroo!

The beginnings of challah doughnuts - making the dough

Challah doughnuts with Blood Orange glaze

Beautiful fresh produce from Epicurean Harvest

The Table Series - August 1, 2015

Kath August 4, 2015

Here are some photos from the first ever Table Series workshop I attended this past weekend. The focus was on mastering the art of the perfect Instagram worthy food flatlay. As you can see by the pictures I took, I got a little distracted by the amazing food and venue and couldn’t help taking photos of that too!

Many thanks to Kat (@katnt) and Koen (@koentadyy) for organising such a great morning.

Food:

@pressedjuices

@theflourybaker

@woahnellybakes

@fikaswedishkitchen

@nutorius_

@ttotalertea

Space:

@thecommune

Everything else:

@thepaperbunny

@mujiaustralia

@thetableseries_

Cook Republic Workshop - May 15,2015

Kath May 17, 2015

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a Cook Republic Workshop with Sneh Roy of Cook Republic and Katrina Meynink of The Little Crumb. The workshop was on how to pitch, write, style, photograph and publish a cookbook.

My obsession with cookbooks is probably well known by now, so it might not come as much of a surprise that I would love to someday have one of my own.

Lots of great and really useful advice was given by both Sneh and Katrina, and it was great to hear about both their experiences around publishing their cookbooks. I did find myself becoming memorised at the prospect of beginning such a project, and partly because I was sitting directly in front of Sneh’s enviable bookcase, all filled with cookbooks! I kept noticing books I hadn’t seen before, or ones that are on my ‘to be bought (at some time in the future) list.’ There were also carefully decorated corners of the room, so photogenic I sat there making a mental list in my mind of all the photographs that could be taken in this amazing space.

By the end of the day all the advice, stories and ideas were swirling around in my mind, and it felt like I was walking away better equipped to tackle my own cookbook project sometime in the future.

If you ever get the chance to attend one of the Cook Republic Workshops, do! It was a lovely day filled with extremely useful advice, warming cups of tea and wonderful food. All in all, a day well spent in my opinion!

Thanks again to Sneh and Katrina for a wonderful day!

Egg & Onion

Quince Scones

Kulinary Adventures of Kath

Food Photography, Recipes & Baking