A blog by Kate Gibbs
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Just love the light, airy, nordic style of photographer Ditte Isager, who hails from Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspiration comes from the Dutch Masters, storytelling, and the effects from motion pictures. The photographer shows that overhead food photography can be completely wonderful, and the use of soft linens and minimalist style is rich with texture.
I found the wonderful Ditte Isager via my friend, photographer Kristin Hove, whose Norway-based blog is a constant inspiration.
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This is my totally easy, throw it all together starter to have just after drinks and just before some more fussed over main. It’s half way between a ceviche and a tartare, partly cooked by a little lime juice but not overly soaked in it. Besides, when you have such a perfect slab of sashimi grade yellowfin tuna (from Martin’s Seafood in Balmain), it would be a waste to cook it and spin the whole lot in other flavours.
Here we have 450g yellowfin tuna, trimmed of skin and those bloody dark red patches that are not so silken. Chop into 5mm cubes, then add to that 2 finely chopped golden shallot, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, juice and grated zest of of 1 lime, and the finely chopped flesh of 1 roasted capsicum, which you can buy in little jars doused in olive oil (from Essential Ingredient), or just do yourself (hold with metal tongs over a flame until blistered and black all over, then shove it in a paper bag and seal for 5-10 minutes – peel when cool). Drizzle the lot with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and cover and leave in the fridge for up to an hour. Toss through 1 avocado, cut into dice the same size as the tuna, then season to taste. I serve this dish in little shot glasses with tiny spoons for a crowd, but it’s also great pushed into small ramekins and turned out on individual plates for each guest, scattered with baby herbs and another drizzle of olive oil and lime juice.
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The wedding over and the real thing beginning, a friend just returned from her amazing and looong honeymoon to south and central america. Long catch ups over the remnants of summer to do. We used to do backflips into the pool all summer, now it’s more cocktails by the pool, with chaps in tow. Love growing up. This little video is a tribute to her wedding, the sustaining photobooth and friends…
We Love Photobooths from Benjamin Fraser on Vimeo.
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Heavenly mornings, Kylie Kwong pancakes, big bouquets of flowers and best friends. Pics taken a few weeks back at Eveleigh Markets.
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One of my favourite people is leaving Sydney for Norway today. Kristin Hove, who I’ve spent the last 6 months exploring Sydney, talking recipes, talking publishing, and generally hanging out with, is heading home to Oslo with her darling chap Arnie. Oh sigh. Some people just inspire you to do things, reminding you to try new things, cook new things, remember what matters. And they did this for me. I could go on about Kristin for hours, but this little post is a tribute to them both. And while Kristin is the foodie of the pair, really, I have known Arnie to wake up early to throw together some strawberry jam to go with her freshly baked “cones”, which are bready version of croissants. This strawberry jam came out the other night, as well, when we had a waffle night – heart-shaped and served with options of “brown cheese“, sour cream, fresh cut strawberries and Arnie’s jam.
Appreciating the harsh reality that this pair is leaving, I’ve made some jam to console myself. I’ve added gala apples, which add another fruity element to the conserve. This is super easy, and definitely worth having on hand if your friends are running off to Norway.
Cook the apples in the butter in a heavy-based saucepan until soft and translucent (5-8 mins). Add the washed and hulled strawberries, juice and sugar then stir. Cook on high for 25 minutes, until a little gels when tested on a cold saucer. Ladle into hot sterilised jars and seal. Store in a cool dark place. Will keep for 3-4 weeks or longer in the refrigerator.
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Favourite weekend ever probably, thanks to the Sydney Writers Festival, and the rain, and the lovely friends to spend it with. Two of the three talks I saw were down in Walsh Bay, where festival goers packed the streets, or hid from the incessant rain in the newly opened Fratelli Fresh, the tapas bar Firefly and a massive warehouse-style bookstore set up just for duration of the festival. Both Fratelli and Firefly are worth visiting, by the way. In the former we had linguini with parsley and lemon breadcrumbs and a bistecca with anchovy butter. And wine. There must be wine at lunch on such a literary-based and rainy day. At Firefly, the fabulous Jeremy Hyman and David Bushby and I shared grilled haloumi, and a massive never-ending pot of olives after the Alan Ramsey and Senator John Faulkner talk and before the Christopher Hitchens talk in the evening.
More on the actual festival, anyway. On Sunday Annabel Crabb, the political journalist, talked to Tony Abbott on the difficulty of truth, amusingly, and the thinking behind his recent memoir Battlelines. He talked about his disappointment after the Liberal’s loss at the last federal election and why he’s so addicted to athleticism – be it physical, religious, or political.
Meanwhile, Christopher Hitchen’s talk covered mainly his life and work, and there was little on his atheist beliefs. He was amusing and incredibly intelligent, albeit damning and impatient with the (admitedly horribly phrased and pretty stupid) questions coming from the audience. I’ll get his new book Hitch-22 anyway.
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My dear friend Kristin Hove has just released her first cookbook. Just 200 copies are being printed, so be quick if you want to get one. The book is full of recipes from her friends, who contributed from all over the world. Her stunning photography is inspiring, and the food is simple, elegant and worth picking up a copy for. You can buy it here.. Kristin and I are now working on a book of our own! Will keep you posted!
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This is Vincent. His mother is fluent and at-her-core Parisian, and his father through-and-through Portuguese. Both completely Australian. These gorgeous friends speak three languages at home, and eat all nationalities of food. And so does Vincent. Just a wee boy and he already speaks better French than me, and much better Portuguese. And Vincent knows how to eat his croissants – pure joy. Pic taken with my Golden Half camera. Since she saw this post, Vincent’s darling mum Lucy has informed me, a generalist apparently, that in fact Vincent is eating a pain au chocolat. Of course he is, sorry.
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The Kitchen Inc. blog is written and edited by Kate Gibbs - a journalist, author and cook.
Food, travel, design >> How, when entwined together, these things inspire our daily culinary experiences >> The Kitchen Inc. covers food, kitchen-based inspiration, and workable design as it impacts our dining, eating, cooking lives.
Kate Gibbs writes a weekly column for Good Living in The Sydney Morning Herald on cooking with kids: Kitchen Cadets. She is the restaurant reviewer for Sunday Life magazine in the Sun Herald. She is a regular contributor to the SMH on food and travel.
Kate is a co-author of The Foodies Guide to Sydney 2011 and 2012 and is a contributor to SMH Everyday Eats 2011 and 2012 and Good Cafe Guide 2012. Kate has 10 years' journalism experience and has written for Russh, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Frankie and others. The interest in journalism began at London's The Evening Standard newspaper. Her first cookbook, The Thrifty Kitchen, was published in 2009. Kate's mother Suzanne Gibbs and grandmother Margaret Fulton are also in the food business.
In The Kitchen Inc, Kate writes restaurant, bar and cafe reviews, and shows the most interesting and inspiring places to eat and gastro-explore. Kate reviews new food-relevant design and books, she writes about new trends in cooking, how different ingredients are being used by our top chefs and cooks, and how to use these ideas at home.
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