Thoughts From Becca

This belief seems so intrinsic to me that I hardly know what to write: love feeds us, and putting love into the preparation and cooking of our food nourishes us in a way that is greater than the nutrients of the ingredients. Connecting with those around me I know others of like minds. Yet I am constantly surprised when observing others who dont have the same central belief: that we take on the essence of what we intake. Take in food prepared with love for a happy loving life. Take in food prepared in angst and without feeling to deliver the result of the same hurried and angry approach to the world. This belief is one very good reason that I don't eat take away or prepared foods, and avoid those packaged foods on supermarket shelves. I like to cook from scratch and feed those close to me with not only the nutrients of the food, but to nourish them with love. A great honour, is always to be invited into someone else's home, to be allowed into their sanctuary, and to be honoure...

I've always had an interest in cooking in the way that is now called Slow Food. The movement to local is again gaining popularity. It never lost momentum with me. Flavour marriages are at a premium when you take the local produce from the same region and season; you can't go wrong! Classical food combinations are historically based on these regional and seasonal marriages. Although my reasons for cooking seasonal regional and fresh were always based on taste, there are lots of other reasons to use this base in understanding food, produce, cooking. For a start in our industrialised, and then technology based societies, (global) transport is easier and quicker so we've come to enjoy produce from other regions at any time of year. Long distance hauls have an impact, on not only flavour, but also have a huge cost to the environment. What is the impact to our world on transporting water in a bottle up to 15,000 kilometres (or sending pears to China from Australia?) Long stor...

During the week I've been following a regional food challenge limiting myself to food within a 100 mile (160km) radius of my home. I started the tough way by cleaning out the fridge and starting with an empty larder. Well, it would not have been a challenge otherwise. Always mindful of using fresh seasonal produce, limitations on distance from farm to table have proved interesting. What an education I've received. Was I crazy to think I would walk into the Sydney CBD and find local produce, or even find food for which the origin was known. On the first day, I spent (more than) my lunchtime walking the city. Just one helpful fruit stall (Pitt Street near Martin Place) had produce (known to be) from this state. His display of apples was from Batlow and I purchased three. To be sure of my distance obligation, a friend did his technical thing and checked, and Batlow did not fall within range from Sydney. Regional for sure! But I'm a Taurus and determined. I did not want to ...

YOU CAN FOLLOW MY WEEK on the Live Local Challenge @ http://www.livelocalchallenge.blogspot.com/ Things have changed over time, and living in the city, we've really separated ourselves from being close to the earth, and to understanding our impact on it. This week, a new site http://www.livelocal.org.au/ is being launched with an aim of regrouping and rebuilding community. I'm going to do my bit and you can get behind it too by adding your ideas on the site. Of course with my food focus, a lot of my effort is food based. I've always tried to cook a lot of what I eat from scratch, to not use processed foods and to really support fresh seasonal produce. Once I started thinking about it, there was and is so much more that I can do. Starting this Wednesday I've accepted the live local challenge. As part of the challenge I've decided to take on a week of living only on regional produce (only grown within 100 miles of where I live). The preparation has been interesting, ...

Mum has provided me not only with unconditional love, and the groundwork for my life, but also within that a connection for this city girl with rural life, with fresh farm produce and a love of cooking. Mum and the women in my family taught me how to cook. She along with Aunty Dossie, and Aunty Mona are the inspiration for my Becca's Bakery blog www.beccasbakery.blogspot.com too. Today is Mother's Day, and yesterday, I was excited here in Sydney to find country produce from mum's home in country town Wingham, New South Wales. Shopping at Sydney's Orange Grove farmers market, I was delighted to see a Manning Valley Beef stand. Only their second week coming from country to city (a good three and a half hour drive) I discovered that the farmer was representing himself and his neighbours in an attempt to receive better prices for their wonderful produce. And, this week in particular as my treasure for a Mother's Day present, I was delighted to discover, preserves. They...

This started with a comment this week in my techie group at work... It was about foam, as it's been 'fashionable' recently... (and the comment was take it off the food please! Or maybe the please was omitted?) Not one for 'fashion' (in couture perhaps yes though not cuisine) au contraire, I've always been one to put flavour first. While I enjoy thoughtful and new food combinations, and I revere craftsmanship I cannot create at home without the restaurant's brigade of chefs, I tend to the honest, not the fashionable. Over the years I have observed a number of food trends. Nouvelle cuisine, comfort food (sticky date pudding, lamb shanks, boeuf bourguignon), food from different regions of the globe (Moroccan, Italian, Vietnamese), different fashions in plating (piped sauces, stacked food, food served in bowls that make it hard to eat) ... The trends absorbs us ... Some of the latest flavour combinations (unlike those by the truly inspired such as Alain Passa...

During the week I asked Twitter friends what were their favourite pumpkin ideas. Actually it was a simple request, one little tweet (Twitter miniblog post), and I was surprised by so many replies and retweets (repeat posts). Here are the responses: @ sgere : pumpkin polenta! we just had that for dinner on Sunday @ Amykr : I love pumpkin ravioli or since it is late some pumpkin bread @ Kimbitz : my 5 year old asked for pumpkin pie today - something in the air? I make my pie with honey and coconut milk - fantastic! @ achillesmama : RT @frombecca : so now have pumpkin on my mind ... maybe pumpkin risotto tonight ... other pumpkin ideas anyone? @ VeronicaFitzhug : after din din you should watch the christin ricci movie pumpkin. it's 1 of my favs & soundtrack is awesome. love that ricci chick @ fridley : Pumpkin pudding!! Had it the other night. Delicious!! @ crazybrave : try pasta with chunks of pumpkin roasted with cumin and chilli, grilled ricotta and pesto. @ JohannaBD : nothing...