A brief note on things afoot and to say I have returned to sunny Sydney

Many months have passed since last I wrote a thing, words escaped me but now I am delightfully reunited with my home and my own bed, heaven but due to various commitments, I shall not be in it for long. This post will be brief, there is much to share after 11 months in London but I am not quite up to that yet. Life is altered and life has been very kind to me I met wonderful people, ate great food and was inspired to create several new dishes I will share with you in due course.
I am fresh off the plane and catering hundreds of samples of delicious wholefood nourishment for tomorrows presentation at the Food Is Medicine day of The MINDD Foundation International Forum and Conference. Friday has sold out but if you are coming do come and say hello.
I am then off to Noosa for three weeks where I will be in house chef to a delightful couple who have invited me back after a good experience a couple of years ago. I will nip home to see Jude Blereau’s latest book launched on June 1st and then June 2nd Jude and I and Dr Rosalba Courtney are hosting another seminar at Glenaeon Steiner School in Middle Cove. Apologies for the late notice, the details are below, there are places still and bookings can be made here on Jude’s site. I will be away again for a few weeks and have not yet planned my next programme of classes. I have had many requests for my capturing culture classes, sourdough baking workshops and winter wholefoods, let me know if there is a class you would like to see on the programme? I look forward to seeing you where I do. Many thanks to those that recommended me to your UK contacts I so appreciate that you did. I had a great time working there and had to tear myself away from my family, old and new friends. Still I am thrilled to be back where my daughter lives, in this great wide sunny land where the skies go on forever.

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Autumn not Spring? I am in London, for now. Britain’s real food offerings are really stunning.

British ‘Real Food’ is superb and it is in plentiful supply. This afternoon I will make an appearance at London’s Real Food Festival. I am excited to see what the real food markets on the South bank of the Thames will offer in the way of produce. The brief is to shop and then demonstrate in a kitchen set up under the London Eye opposite the Houses of Parliament, how grand! My sister bought this crab home from Norfolk along with a big bundle of the freshest samphire I have eaten. I love the juicy pop it makes when you bite and its definite sea saltiness. The crab was sweet and meaty and easy to get at.

As you see, I am far from Sydney Spring, away from my  ‘home’ of 31 years and here to stay in London for an unknown period. I arrived here mid summer, just before the Olympic games began.

I returned to Perth to teach Sourdough baking, lacto-fermentation, on Meat and Fish at the Whole and Natural Chefs Training Programme, which Jude Blereau of Wholefood cooking has just completed. It provides is an excellent pathway to a career in our industry and the students produced some fabulous dishes.  Sardines are a Western Australian delight and these were cooked beautifully by a student, a fantastic first go, they were speedily consumed by us all.

I have been back in London since mid August and on my return I was met by the extraordinarily uplifting Paralympic atmosphere. Suddenly I had lots more time for watching the telly!

It is incredible how fast life can change, here today with a full schedule of classes and vital things to do and then one sad phone call alters it all. My Mother is gravely ill and London is where I wish to be, while she is here to be with. Thank you to all the people who were booked into classes, catering jobs and food coaching. Your understanding and kindness have been a great support and I apologies for any disappointment my sudden departure caused you.

I am beginning to settle a little now and could work casually, a couple of days a week. A private or group class or two or personal chef work would be ideal. As it is turning into Autumn here now a personal chef, to fill the fridge and freezer, with slow cooked deliciousness must appeal to more than one household? If you know anyone who might like that service or someone looking to detox or improve their dietary habits please send them my way.

The current classes page, as you see  is all wrong and quite out of date now. I have not yet found the space to recreate it but I will as soon as possible. I will also post some of the delicious things I have been finding to eat.

I dont expect to return to Sydney for several months and so the next Australian class programme is likely to be from late January next year. I have had lots of enquiries about that programme. If you have been in touch and not yet heard back I apologise. I have been consumed by family circumstances and will contact you as soon as possible. If you like to plan ahead let me know and we can discuss details and dates. My email is the best contact for now. I have a UK mobile +44 (0) 7786922248 or email holly@foodbyhollydavis.com 

Winter, the season for inner reflection, drawing in and foods that warm to the core

Deep Water, Iford NSW ©Sarah Ducker 2012

This photo is the perfect representation of the winter months, dark, cold and mysterious. A time for bringing warmth to the core of our body to help us manage the colder weather. Any northern hemisphere reader might scoff, thinking that Australia never gets that cold. It is all relative and the 17˚C in my room today see’s me bundled up beside the heater!

I made Oden yesterday, Japan’s answer to winter warming nourishment; eaten on the icy winter streets and in bars. For those who have a copy, there is a recipe for this fabulous dish, in my cookbook Nourish. It is a very simple broth with these ingredients at least, mirin and tamari, kombu, shiitake mushrooms, daikon, carrots and tofu; all long slow simmered into a deeply delicious meal. This broth looks somewhat like the photo above, unfathomable, watery and dark.

In Chinese 5 element theory winter is a representation of the water element, dark red and black, saltiness and it is the season that requires we give attention to our water organs, the kidneys and the bladder. Cooking styles that best suit the season include long slow simmering, braising roasting sauteeing and preserving. It’s a great time for the slow cooker, the stock pot and the oven but dont forget, and I suspect you wont, we all love something sweet to eat and winter provides us some fabulous fruits. The quince above were transformed from rock hard yellow to meltingly soft, deep red sweetness by long slow simmering with only a very small amount of maple syrup. They were dense and toothsome. Top tip… just cut them in half and wait to core them after they have cooked. This makes it very easy to extract the hard core without leaving any behind and it saves the risk of a knife wound.

The recipe for these is included in my  Refresh, Restore & Nourish in Winter  4 evening or 4 day course. The course provides the fundamental skills of cooking in this season with many supportive easy winter recipes and a menu plan that offers a broad range of breakfasts, lunches dinners and snacks. I ran this course in Rozelle a couple of weeks ago and got the following fabulous feedback.

Zoe said… Thanks for a great 4 days of cooking, eating and learning. I’m just about to qualify as a Naturopath and found 4 days with you to be more valuable and useable than all the nutrition classes I’ve done! You make it real- let food be our medicine, and medicine be our food.

Gabriella offered this…”Thank you again for such a wonderful four days of learning, cooking and discussions. You left me wishing I could bring you home and tuck you away in my kitchen. The amount of knowledge you have on eating nourishing, seasonal foods and healing with whole foods is incredible and I only wished we could have had more time.

I am running this course again, over 4 Tuesday evenings starting tomorrow, Tuesday 12th June, in Bilgola. There are a few places for the quick and keen. Send me an email asap if you want a spot. I will be running it in Melbourne at The Green Grocer in Fitzroy North, at the end of July. Please help me spread the news to Victoria. More details of this and this months Capturing Cultures classes and more can be found here

cacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacacaca These crab apples, opportunistically gathered after a catering job in Bowral, were way too sour to be edible when picked but with a slow simmer, the addition of a little spice and sweetness they have become deep red ‘roadside crab apple jelly’ which will last the winter long and beyond, though I have gifted half of it to friends already!

Here’s what I did, so you can too. There is something deeply satisfying about producing food from ‘found’ ingredients.

Recipe for roadside crab apple jelly

3 kilos fruit, washed but otherwise untouched, tipped into a large stew pan

covered in cold water and brought to a gentle simmer, pop in a split vanilla bean and a couple of cinnamon quills

simmered until the apples soften, about 30-40 minutes

the fruit and liquid are poured into a colander lined with two or three layers of muslin, over a large pot. Don’t press the fruit, allow it to strain overnight

Measure the juice and add the pulp to the compost

use 500gms light muscovado sugar or raw sugar per litre

simmer the juice and sugar until the temperature reaches 105˚C at this point it will gel beautifully

contain in sterile glass jars, cool and pour a layer of liquid bees wax over the jelly to seal, lid and store until you are ready to use- i’ll give you 3 hours max…

Something new. Exploring Winter Wellness Workshop. Yoga by Gwynne Jone, food by Holly Davis

On July 15 I am teaming up with yogi Gwynne Jones, we are  offering a seasonal one day winter workshop at The Intuitive Well in Bondi Junction. For all the details see June-September classes page