Food and Art

Two things I can't live without - food and art.  One nourishes the body while the other does wonders for the soul.

As part of the Crave  Sydney International Food Festival, Brenda May Gallery is presenting an exhibition Art + Food: Beyond the Still Life.  It opened  on 2 October and our daughter Maz Dixon is one of the featured artists.

Holiday Attractions # 13

Here's a taste of what she will have on show.  The whole Fudge clan will be there on Saturday for the official opening, so if you are in Sydney, why not drop in to the gallery?  You will be in for a feast for the eyes.  That just about covers all the food puns, so here are the details:

Brenda May Gallery
2 Danks Street
Waterloo  2017
Tues-Fri 11.00 - 6.00, Saturday 10.00 - 6.00, closed Sunday
Exhibition runs until 20 October

Delicious.

Food for Thought

 

BrisStyle had a fairly important meeting yesterday.  We needed a large percentage of members to be present or to send in their proxies.  Thankfully we had the numbers and the proposals were carried unanimously.  Being a committee member of this dynamic and ever-increasing organisation takes huge chunks out of my day, but the rewards come with occasions such as yesterday. 

Then there are the other perks - these girls can cook!  Take a look at what was placed on the table for morning tea.

I realise that the table looks a little bare, but by the time I found my camera in the Black Hole (AKA The Handbag) the hungry hoards had done their worst.

I knew what my contribution was going to be.  I found the most scrumptious recipe for peanut butter fudge (what else?) on Flossie Teacakes' blog and had a terrible time keeping the flies and husband away from the tin.  The original recipe comes from Sophie Dahl, so my husband really wants to thank you Sophie and Florence of Flossie Teacakes for making his Anzac Day Long Weekend complete (yes, I did bring home the left-overs).

Committee leader Helen (top, middle) explained some of the finer points to the members.

Hard-working committee members Rebecca and Bel are clearly pleased with the outcome.

After the members departed, it was time for a committee meeting which, of course, meant time for lunch.

There was also a bottle or two of Moet somewhere in the background, if my memory serves me correctly.  A very successful day.

If music be the food of love, eat on!

(Apologies to Mr Shakespeare.)

P.S.  If you are within coo-ee of Brisbane next Friday evening (30 April), give yourself a real treat and walk over to King George Square, where you will be able to meet the lovely members of BrisStyle at their first Twilight Market.  I wish I could be in two places at once, but I will be in New Zealand with some of the family.  The Twilight Market has captured the imagination of the city fathers and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane has thrown his support beind the event, so we are expecting big things!

Colours

I've always been fascinated by colour, so while we were away I took photos of the stunning way Europeans have of putting together such intoxicating colour combinations.

Toilet rolls on display at the Louvre ... classy.

Ties in Venice - Mr Fudge grabbed the one in the middle before I had time to stop him!

Food always captured our attention.

Macaroons ... mmmmmm ...

Even this ancient building in the Roman Forum appeared to be decorated with M & Ms.  I know, I know, but it was late in the day and I was becoming really hungry.

Then there's fashion ...

Our son, now in his thirties, has been terrified of clowns ever since he was a little boy.  No, we didn't dress up in clown suits and scare him in the middle of the night (not that we'd admit to it), so we don't know where the phobia came from. 

This should make his weekend.

Finally, the cars of Paris ...

Venice on a wet afternoon ...

... and the Georgian doors of Dublin - superb.

Shadow Shot Sunday # 78

It's late Saturday night, close enough to Sunday to think once again about Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday. It's been a long and busy day which started at the crack of dawn, when we drove to New Farm, on the other side of the city for our fix of Farmers' Market. The sun was out, the birds were singing and all was well with the world.

Before we could even THINK of shopping, there was the serious business of heart starters. Ah .. coffee shadows ...

Next came Men with Trolleys and Babies - de rigeur at the markets.

And finally, with the warm spring sun fully out, there were the new season's golden, ripe mangoes.

With the shadow shots out of the way, we set about enjoying the simple pleasures of soaking up the market atmosphere. Here are a few images to show what we love about this particular market and what keeps drawing us back.

The flowers

The produce

The people

The quirky ...

And those priceless moments.

Oooo ... if I keep looking at the ground, maybe he won't notice me ...

Home again, home again,







Jiggidy jig.

What's not to love?

Rural Bliss

HAVE YOU EVER WISHED that you could run away to the country for a couple of days to refresh the spirit? Well, that's exactly what we did last week when good friends invited us to stay at their country retreat.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? We could see the farmhouse on the tip of the hill ahead and were really keen to arrive.

At last we were there. After the usual happy greetings, it was off to the Henhouse Hilton to feed the chooks.

Now, I don't know about you, but my memory of a henhouse was a lean-to shed constructed of galvanised iron with a bit of wire around it to keep the chooks in and the cats out. Well, these chooks have certainly landed on their feet. The owners say that they lay the most expensive eggs in the world!

Take a look at their laying nests - a little different to what their poor unfortunate battery hen sisters have to put up with. The floor has a drainage system so that all the hosed-down water washes away to help keep the grass outside green.

All this was designed and constructed by the owners' son who is a landscape gardener. He has very cleverly restored an old dairy shed into something quite stunning.

Speaking of stunning, meet Reuben, the lord of all he surveys. He admits to having a favourite girlfriend and has been observed presenting her with a blueberry on one occasion. Now this could either be true love, or maybe he has simply appointed her as his chief food taster. Either way, he's something to behold.

Here are my favourites, the Spangled Hamburgs. Aren't they gorgeous? And see how the little black hens in the background look on them with envy.

There was time for a quick inspection of the garden before heading back to the homestead.

It was an extremely hot day, so what better way to cool off than sit on the back porch with a cool drink, observing the very contented cattle.

Breakfast the next day was on the back porch, where we were able to catch the cool morning breezes.

One good thing about old friends is that you can simply relax, sit around and talk all day, and that's exactly what we did. We left behind the world's dramas and concentrated on family news, movies and plays recently seen, books read, and all those really important things in life.

Meanwhile, the city cats, Oscar and Charlie, weren't overly impressed with their breakfast fare!

Good heavens - was it time for lunch already?

This time we sat on the front veranda, cracked open a bottle (or it may have been more) of cold white wine, and got stuck into the beautiful Lamb and Noodle Thai Salad. The attached recipe is pretty similar, but our lamb had been marinated overnight and it was cooked to perfection.

We took a well-earned siesta (country living can be pretty hard work, you know) until late afternoon, when we hopped into the car to take in some local scenery...

... and to watch the spectacular sunset from a mountain lookout.

Then it was back to the farmhouse for our evening meal and to feed some very anxious city cats. We sat out in the cool of the front veranda, with the garden fountain providing a delightful background.

Oscar, feeling very contented, found his favourite cushion and settled down for the evening, dreaming about whatever it is that cats dream of.

And so we are now back in the city, refreshed by all the beautiful memories of our couple of days in the country. I can thoroughly recommend it.