Collective Harvest

Hello :) I have been following the collective harvest for some time on instagram, seeing all the colourful and inspiring pictures of vegetables each week. You can read more about the concept here if you're not familiar, but basically each week they source local organic produce from farms around sydney and pop a generous selection in a tote bag to collect on top of the paramount building in surry hills each saturday morning.

Well, on the weekend it just happened that I had a rare saturday off from work & saw on instagram that they had a few spare totes so decided to snap one up before having lunch in surry hills ... perfect timing! I suppose I love the concept so much because it gets you so excited about eating vegetables !!! A whole bag of locally sourced organic produce ... it inspires you to create beautiful, nourishing meals.

Here's a super smiley Adrian posing with the tote, so hipster!

Look at those vibrant colours! Eggplants, pumpkin, kale, parsley, cucumbers, turnips, peppers & carrots.

On Saturday night for dinner I made a salad with the roasted pumpkin and turnip and added lots of parsley. I also fried the peppers with organic marinated lamb ribs.

And yesterday arvo since we had so many turnips I decided to pickle them ... I mostly followed this recipe

How lovely! #icanpicklethat

A really delicious salad I made last night - roasted pumpkin, sliced turnip, parsley and kale, all from the bag. The base is a mix of brown rice and amaranth, so good!! 

And later in the week I might make a ratatouille or baba ghanoush with all those eggplants … 

Have a lovely week and eat lots of veggies!

Hannah x

Hello

Hello :) Here's a little life update ...

Lately I've been working most days of the week, 4-5 of those days at the pharmacy. It's been nice getting to know crows nest a little more  - I've had a few good finds at the vinnies, love the vietnamese food at mama's buoi and spend a little too much money at the health food store. I also joined the local yoga studio mantra yoga and have been going to their morning hatha classes which are so nice and calming.

Once a week I still go to my friends home and help cook/prepare food for their market stalls which is so fun and doesn't feel like work ... 

And fun new job! Every second weekend you can find me running the Ferment It stall at Eveleigh markets (every other week still at the olive stall at Orange Grove markets) I really enjoy talking all about gut health, probiotics and digestion for a few hours!

The range consists of beetroot/apple, sauerkraut, kimchi and lime/chili/mango - all fermented with a 12 strand probiotic ... they're all really yum! 

Started back at ballet two weeks ago, really enjoy the monday morning class and being back en pointe!

Baked some delicious bran muffins the other week and added blueberries and ricotta. 

Also made some divine banana bread ... and couldn't resist this second hand teacup!

Visited marrickville markets the other week (miss working there!) and bought this from a guy who gets the old coconuts the stallholders throw away and creates a succulent pot. Such a good idea & I've found a nice spot for it in my room. 

And how good is this show ??!!

Have a lovely week ... 

Hannah x

Simple Summer Pasta

Hello :) I hope everyone had a nice Australia Day! I went into the city and saw thelma plum and dustin tebbutt (beautiful voice!) perform near circular quay, browsed around the MCA, then came home and made this simple summer pasta for dinner while listening to triple J. Even more excited to see chet faker live in March since he won the countdown!

On Saturday morning I went to Eveleigh markets again and bought some yummy ingredients with this dish in mind. I know everyone says when you have really good quality ingredients you don't need to do much - but it's true. This took about five minutes to prepare!

Ingredients ... 

fresh strozza pasta from pasta emilia (love their cafe in surry hills!)

salsa verde from darling mills farm (this one had parsley, mint, tarragon, anchovies, capers, olive oil, lemon - so fresh and herby!)

kale sauteed with garlic and ripe tomatoes 

a good pinch of pepper and sea salt 

The fresh pasta was a treat - so silky and delicious and I thought the salsa verde was a fresh and zesty alternative to the traditional basil pesto. 

Hannah x

A Saturday

Hello :) Saturday was a great day. Since I don't start working at weekend markets till Feb I've been making the most of my weekends and yesterday I woke up early and went with my sister to the first Eveleigh market of the year. 

We left the market with two big bags full of yummy produce ... 

Morning tea treats from the market! Fruit bread from sonoma, goats curd and fresh figs. A drizzle of honey and voila ... 

For lunch I made a frittata with tomatoes, fennel and kale

Since it was a super hot day I met Adrian in the afternoon and we took the bus to Coogee - everyone else in Sydney had the same idea!

Gordon's Bay a short walk from Coogee is my favourite spot for a swim 

Hope your year is off to a fantastic start !!!

See you soon

Hannah x

Summer Days

Hello :) Oh hi blog!!! I have been back in Sydney for almost two weeks after my super fun Europe adventures! Adrian & I had an awesome five weeks away - and I'll probably blog about it in the new year. Highlights included seeing snow in Helsinki, all the Christmas markets (especially in Vienna and Prague), hiking around Switzerland (so beautiful!), relaxing in the Budapest baths and the walking tours around Prague and Berlin (I could live in Berlin!) … 

We both missed the Sydney summer sun though so it was nice to come back and I've had plenty of catch ups and good coffee since. Here's what I've been up to since returning ...

I went to brickfields in chippendale for the first time and oh my their almond croissants are amazing … they're big enough to share and are filled with almond goodness. Must go back for more treats.

Rye & caraway from brickfields 

I made the gingerbread cookies from my new roots the day after seeing the recipe on her blog. I have never made gingerbread before and this recipe was really great!! It made a lot of cookies which was perfect for gifting to people and snacking on … 

Went to the awesome pop exhibition at the art gallery - it's certainly good value for money as it takes up so many rooms and even has a cafe within the exhibition (coffee was great!)

I gifted these handmade polish espresso cups to two friends from a Christmas market in Vienna. I thought they were super sweet.

Last Saturday was the last market of the year. Such a nice atmosphere and we managed to sell out well before the end of the day - lots of people will be eating olives on Christmas.

Stocking up on quinoa and kale from alfalfa house 

Sunday strolling around Blues Point.

Loving the early evening light (such a novelty from five weeks of darkness at 4:30pm!!) … enjoying dumbo feather, the winter issue of kinfolk and the remains of the day.

Stocking up on essentials (the benefit of working at a pharmacy) - my friend Tara and I are leaving on Boxing Day to woodford folk festival over the new year … really excited for festival fun times !!!

Well this is my last post for 2014 - have a lovely Christmas and New Years!!! We are spending Christmas day at home and I plan on making peach pancakes for brekky (from the smitten kitchen cookbook) and for lunch I'm slow cooking lamb to have with fresh salads and apple tarte tatin for dessert. Then dinner with extended family.

2015 is going to be a big one … finally finishing my nutrition degree (one subject to go), moving out with Adrian (we luckily passed the holiday test!) and working on some new projects. See you then!!!

Hannah x

Alfio's

Hello :) Two thursdays ago my friend Renee and I went to the new pop up restaurant from the full circle team called Alfio's in Leichhardt. I went last year to their pop up called The Eat In - in a warehouse in chippendale and was super impressed, so knew I was in for a nice meal. This time they've used a former Italian restaurant that has been vacant for a few years and actually distantly remember going there as a kid. With Alfio's, you pay $50 per person for a set menu of 4-5 courses that changes each night - how fun!

We got there early for a 6pm sitting and there was some lovely light streaming through the window ... 

Olives to start.

Raw mushrooms salad with pecorino.

Sourdough with capsicum and house made ricotta (shared) Oh the ricotta!!

Fish in a bag with zucchini & lemon. So simple but so tasty - must try this!

Roast beetroot with balsamic and broad beans - served with the fish.

Gnocchi with goat ragu. 

Peach tart with mascarpone. 

As you can see all the food was superb. The kinda food that I can imagine someone gathering from a produce market and cooking with friends with plenty of vino. Alfio's is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for the next few months - so get in quick and reserve a table! 

Also ... 

I think this shall be my last post before I fly to Europe in a week (!!!) I forget if I've shared all the places I'm travelling to but here they are (in order)... Helsinki, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Zurich, Gunten (near Interlaken), Lake Como, Prague & Berlin. I've written a few notes of things to see, but since we're staying in apartments I think it's more fun to ask the hosts what to do and discover things for ourselves. Too exciting! Also if you have any must see things to do for any of those places I would love to hear from you. 

Some fancy essentials I've bought for the trip ... a few novels for long train rides between most of the countries, geranium body cream (which will double as a hand cream) from aesop, warming cinnamon tea and gumption coffee for the aeropress.

See you all around the middle of december! If you want to see photos of the trip you can follow me on instagram - hfong14.

Hannah x

ps. here are my posts from last year's trip in case you want to read ... Copenhagen, Amsterdam boathouse and city, Brussels, Paris, Lyon, Nice, Remoulins, Avignon ... & I also went to Spain but never did finish blogging about it, oops!

Aeropress Coffee

Hello :) In two weeks from today Adrian and I will be on a plane to Europe, with our first stop being Helsinki! While he is busy finishing his honours thesis due next week, I'm planning all the real important things for our trip, like deciding which dental floss to buy and working out how I'm going to drink nice coffee everyday. I took the plunge (ha ha) and decided to buy an aeropress coffee maker, which is a nifty little device that makes a great cup of black coffee. 

You can read about it (here) if you haven't heard of it before - but basically it's a really quick method of brewing coffee that uses filter paper to remove the coffee solids, air pressure to gently squeeze the grounded coffee for a smooth flavour & only takes about a minute to brew and serve. It comes with two cylinders, plenty of filter paper and a scoop and stirrer (which you don't really need). 

I bought mine from the sensory lab in bondi the other week, and though I was a little sceptical at first -I've been making a cup of coffee with it most mornings! It is great if you love black coffee, though you could of course add milk. I'm also not buying coffee out as much now, as I have an easy way to make nice coffee at home. Will definitely enjoy using it overseas! 

Does anyone else love using an aeropress to make coffee?

Hannah x