Ballards, Thornbury: vegetable-centred vegan restaurant

When Sylvia asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted an experience.  She organised a dinner for us at Ballards in Thornbury.  This restaurant is my sort of vegan food: vegetables take centre stage, cooked beautifully with lots of nut and seed creams, creative flourishes and no mock meat in sight!  We had a fantastic dinner on a fine summer evening.  

We wanted to book an inside table but there were none left because we chose a busy evening the day before Valentines Day.  Inside the walls are painted a deep burgundy red with lots of artsy framed pictures like you might expect in a heritage European cafe.  The candles on the tables add to the charming vibe.

There is a large bar inside with lots of books, plants and of course bottles of booze.  And there are a few booths include one at the back that is quite private.

Our booking was for the beer garden out the back that is reached down this little lane.  I love the greenery in the middle of the space that breaks it up into smaller cosy corners.  It was very pleasant on a balmy summer's evening. down a little lane

The menu is a tyranny of choice so we ordered the Just feed me menu.  For $68 per person we were served the chef's selection of 9 amazing small dishes including dessert.  While there were still a few dishes we would have loved to have tried, such as the green olive arancini and layered potato lasagna, we got to try most of the dishes we were interested in and a few that I would not not have tried but was glad I did.  The staff were also open to requests when Sylvia asked if it could include the foccacia.  In addition to everything being vegan, there were lots of gluten free options.

We started with a glass each of non-alcoholic sangria.  A refreshing fruity drink was just what we needed on a summer's evening.  It looked fancy with the ruby red colour, orange slices and ice blocks.

Soon after, our first three dishes were served (see the top photo) as starters.

Sylvia had heard great things about the foccacia with burnt eggplant dip with surprise pickles & smoked tomato oil.  It was every bit as good and more.  The dip was so light and creamy, the bread so soft and had a wonderful sourdough flavour with some toasted fennel seeds and it all was tied together nicely with the pickled onions, cucumbers and smoky oil.

The mac and & cheese croquettes with sunflower seed toum & sweet gherkin leather were delicious.  So crunchy on the outside and the toum gave a creamy boost to the macaroni filling.

 

Most unusual was the cryptically named Pedro ximenez parfait crisps w cured mushrooms, relish, seed cracker.  Pedro Ximenez is a sherry which infused the creamy mushroom paste on the crisp seed cracker.  Topping the paste were cured mushrooms and a sweet relish which contrasted beautifully with the intense mushroom flavour.

 

Our second round of dishes arrived with lots of vegetables: You can see here how huge that eggplant is and the beautiful presentation.

The Heirloom tomato salad with apple, almonds, lovage & sunflower cream was nice, in spite of my wariness of salads featuring tomatoes.  I liked the creaminess and crunch, especially as a companion dish to the potato hash and roast eggplant.
 

The Potato hash with charred broccolini, smoked habanero oil & cannellini was excellent.  The potato hash did not dominate this meal but was all the better for the lovely greens and so much extra toppings.  It was a bit spicy but delicious.

The final of the trio was amazing: Roast eggplant tahini, chickpea, smoked corn & grape molasses.  Eggplant and tahini are such a wonderful combination, especially when the eggplant is cooked so beautifully that it falls apart at the glance of a fork.  The crunchy chickpeas and fresh vegies were great on top of the soft eggplant.

The final savoury dishes were a combination of two dishes, neither of which would have appealed to me but were a wonderful main course.  The Lions mane steak was served in intense dark seared chunks of that odd mushroom that looks like a giant puffball. They came on a bed of braised quinoa with a generous peppercorn sauce and topped with shards of crisp potato.  It was excellent.

The side salad was a Heirloom lettuce w cured sugar melon, sesame & curry leaf vinaigrette.  I could not would not eat this salad but itself.  I am not familiar with sugar melon (but apparently it is cantaloupe that I have always really disliked) nor curing fruit and vegetables.  But I really liked the dressed and fresh lettuce and melon when paired with the intense flavours of the lions mane steak.

Our last dish was the dessert of Elderflower & cashew pannacotta with fresh berry, charcoal meringue & basil.  Again I was surprised at how much I liked this, given that creamy desserts like pannacotta aren't usually my thing.  Perhaps it was that it was made of cashews (I much prefer a cashew sauce to a dairy cream) and the tart dots of fruit gel (was this the elderflower) as well as lots of berries.  The charcoal meringue was a bit gritty as charcoal can be but a nice contrast.  It was a slpendid way to end a wonderful meal.

I would highly recommend Ballards if you are vegans or even if you're not.  The delicious food kept coming, we were not rushed and yet we finished bang on the dot of the 90 minutes we had booked and left with full stomachs and happy taste buds.

Ballards
915 High Street, Thornbury
Open: Monday to Saturday: 6pm - late
https://carrot-jellyfish-7mgz.squarespace.com/

My Monthly Chronicles - January 2026

January was a busy month with leave on the first and last weeks.  In the first week I ate out 6 of 7 days.  I ate amazing food, caught up with friends and family, got out for swimming, lost my purse, had a mudguards saga, had some lovely day trips to Monsalvat, the Dandenongs and Daylesford, as well as seeing family in Geelong.  And then there were the stinking hot days when we were too hot to do anything except a quick ride to the pool in the morning.  I tried to avoid the terrible political events but they demanded attention as you can see in my summary at the end of this post.

You can read more about my January below or about the food we had at home in my post: In My Kitchen January 2026.  Above is a random photo of the summer artwork on the front window of the iconic Readings Bookshop in Lygon St, Carlton.  I try not to buy books as I don't have much time to read.  Yet whenever I am in there, I find so many books I would love to read that I feel that even if I just spent all day every day reading, I would never be able to read them all.  So much joy and so much regret!

Torquay Beach on New Year's Day

On New Years Day we went to Geelong to have lunch at my parents.  My mum had made a lovely cheese quiche to serve with salad.  A fine challenge for Sylvia's first day as a vegan.  There had been some communication breakdowns so to make amends I took her to the supermarket to find mini tacos and vegetable gyoza for her to eat for lunch.

Then I went to the Torquay back beach.  The weather was so cool and I didn't have much time so I just walked along in the tide.  I was amused at the wintery attire of the lifesavers in the middle of summer.  It is always lovely to get to the beach with any weather.  

Welcome to Thornbury - Vegan food trucks

Sylvia was keen to go to Welcome to Thornbury (520 High Street, Northcote) because it was a vegan evening in the food truck park. I enjoyed all the outdoor seating in the leafy courtyard.  We started at Nohadra's Kitchen where we shared the Taste of Iraq mixed plate with 2 falafels, 2 savoury Kuba Haleb (crispy rice balls with mushroom filling), 3 Dolma, tabouli, salad, pickled turnip, flatbread, and tahini sauce.  We'd had it before at Coburg Night Market and knew they do good food.  The crispy rice balls are excellent.

Wokkng Amazing, Welcome to Thornbury

Then I joined the queue in front of the Woking Amazing food truck (also visited here) for three Garlic Butter Jumbo Potato Cakes and an Eggy Sausage Roll, both of which we shared.  The garlic potato cakes were delicious and indulgent.  The roll was described as a "Classic Taiwanese breakfast with BUDS Italian Sausage, soy egg, and hash brown drizzled with oyster mushroom sauce rolled in a savoury flaky scallion pancake."  I was disappointed how how similar the vegan omelette was to a chicken one.  I enjoy a vegan version that is not at all like the real thing as I don't like the taste of eggs.  But I really loved the flaky scallion pancake.

Union Kiosk, Melbourne CBD

We met my dad in the city for lunch and a movie.  Lunch was at Union Kiosk (10 Howey Place).  It is down a laneway off Little Collins Street.  Union Kiosk is a hole in the wall that sells mostly vegan toasties.  That was what we were there for.  My dad had the bolognese, mozzarella and garlic butter toastie.  Sylvia and I shared the pepperoni mac and cheese toastie and the tofu scramble , mushroom and cheese toastie.  

I liked the mac and cheese best despite it being a bit spicy.  The tofu scramble (a bit like the Wokking Amazing roll above) was too eggy.  I wished they hadn't worked so much magic on the tofu.  My dad loved his toastie so much that a few weeks later he took a friend there for lunch 

Howey Place and Flow at ACMI cinema, Melbourne CBD

We headed off to see Flow at ACMI cinema after lunch.  It is an animation film about a cat in a flood.  The scenery is gorgeous with lots of jungle and seemingly spiritual statues.  A friend had told me she liked it despite there not being any dialogue.  Sound odd but once you are immersed, it was a delight to watch the black cat act in ways that rang true of cats and expressing fears and joys.

Postscript: We took the tram home without needing to pay because the state government was giving free transport on weekends to celebrate the new Metro Tunnel.  The next day I could not find my wallet.  I rang the trams, then the cinema and finally Union Kiosk, who had it.  I went back for it and with a bit more time I was amazed to see all the creative street art off Howey Place.  It was so impressive that I have put up a post on this street art in Presgrave Place.

North and Eight cafe, Essendon

I had a lovely lunch at North and Eight (285-287 Buckley Street) with my friend Kathleen.   She had the smashed avo and I had the wild rice salad: quinoa, kale, feta, roast carrot, pistachio, corn, turtle beans, herbs, cranberry, coconut, pepitas, spiced tahini yoghurt, avocado & activated almonds. ($24).  It was a lovely salad but I took more notice of catching up with an uni friend than the food!

Lux Foundry, Brunswick

After hearing in a history talk that Lux Foundry (21 Hope Street) is a fine example of a converted historic industrial building in Brunswick, I went there with Faye with renewed interest in its heritage.  Faye had the Poke Bowl which looked very good and I had the Roasted Pumpkin and Superfood salad: asparagus, kale, currants, shaved macadamias, broccolini, miso dressing.  The menu offered vegetarian extras of poached egg or haloumi and lemon.  I asked for the crispy battered tofu.  I really loved the tofu but it could have benefited from some sauce.  However there was plenty of dressing on the salad so I really enjoyed this meal. 

Bean Thief, Kew East

Another university friend I enjoyed catching up with over January was Jane.  We met in Kew at Hays Paddock for a walk on the morning of a ridiculously hot day of 39 C.  At least the park had some shade but it was definitely a day for a hat and suncream.  It was only a short walk followed with sharing a delicious wedge of Tuscan apple cake at the Bean Thief (773 High St).  The cafe had a nice vibe but it was the air con and cold drinks that I most appreciated.

Monsalvat, Eltham

I can never say enough just how much I love the artists colony of Monsalvat.  It is bursting with fascinating local history, wonderful artistic creations and many gorgeous buildings that looks more Medieval French than Melbourne.  I had a lovely visit there in January and wrote this post about it: Monsalvat Artists Colony, Eltham.  I love this photo by Sylvia.

Big Elma, Coburg 

After a friend recommended Big Elma (138 Nicholson street) at the end of Harding Street, I went there for brunch and we were most impressed.  Sylvia loved her vegan burrito made with wheat tortilla, black beans, avo, tofu scramble, tomato, aioli and served with pickled onions.  

My meal deserved to be heaped with praise!  I had the amazing Half moon tribute Falafel patty by one of our favourite local joints, Half Moon Cafe in Coburg. The patty was made of that delicious vibrant green Egyptian falafel mix and served in a soft bun with tzatziki, cucumber, lettuce and sumac onion ($18).  I ordered the vegan version and it was so so delicious.  Bonus points for being a burger that is easy to pick up with my hands and eat neatly - unlike so many modern burgers.  In fact I think it is one of the best burgers ever!  I regret that the photo does not do it justice.  We must go back for more.

Hey, that’s my Coburg exhibition at Big Elma

We had scrambled to get to Big Elma in January to see the Hey That’s My Coburg: What Remains, What’s Next artwork by local artist Lanie Harris.  The exhibition was inspired by the close of the nearby Andy's Milkbar in Harding Street.  I really love Lanie's gorgeous ink and watercolour paintings of local icons and houses.  My favourite was the Half Moon Falafel painting you can see in the middle of the above photo.  Lanie has a business called Hey That's My House where she take commissions for hand-drawn house portraits (starting at $130).  

Invasion Day

On Invasion Day, on 26 January, the idea of celebrating it as Australia Day becomes more and more problematic.  I was impressed by this Invasion Day poster with a traditional Indigenous eel trap of hopes and dreams.  I keep meaning to go to these marches but sadly this year was not a day when I had the energy.  Instead of marching in the street I read words of anger about how Indigenous people are viewed and treated in this country, especially with the attempted bomb in Perth on an Invasion Day march.  Here are a few of the articles written with distress and fury at the ongoing injustices and harms:

• Invasion Day, the party's over, by David Tyler in David's Substack, 26 January 2026.
• It's only "terrorism" if they're not white, by Dave Milner in The Shot, 30 January 2026.
• Invasion Day is about Indigenous people’s survival, our resilience. To strike at the heart of that is a hate crime, by Lorena Allam in The Guardian, 7 February 2026.
  
  

Paddock Bakery, North Geelong 

We had a lovely lunch with my parents at Paddock Bakery (Federal Mills, 33 Mackey St).  I have only had takeaway or eaten bakery items in the cafe before.  This time we had the full cafe menu.  My mum opted for bakery simplicity in a croissant and jam.  Sylvia went for vegan simplicity in her chips and toast; there was not much savoury vegan food for her on the menu but she was very pleased to have a soy strawberry matcha.  My dad went for the indulgent spectacle of a Sticky Date Pudding French Toast served with custard, caramel sauce, ice cream and berries.  I had a fantastic Purple Toast: roasted beetroot & Za’atar puree, two poached eggs, Meredith goats milk feta, honey roasted walnuts, fresh rosemary on our house wood-fired 7 grain sourdough toast ($25). I did not have the eggs and had the optional extra of guacamole ($6). 

Our lunch was on the busy Invasion Day weekend, and there were a few disappointments.  They were sold out of their wonderful salads.  My mum was surprised that they didn't have any ham and cheese left for the croissant.  Sylvia was told they could not change any menu items such as giving her some sauerkraut on her toast from another meal.  I had looked forward to an Iced blueberry Earl Grey, lemon & soda with rosemary & berry skewer but they were out of blueberries so instead I had the Iced peppermint, apple & soda w/ mint bunch & freeze dried apple ($11), which was really nice.  Despite all this, we enjoyed our meals.  The bread is always amazing and I would be interested to taste their GF options with the toast.  I'd love to return on a quieter day!

Torquay, sea and swimming

After lunch at Paddock, I went to Torquay back beach for a swim.  It was the perfect day for it and on the long weekend there were many people enjoying the sun, sand and surf.  I was so happy to get some swimming in during January after so many busy months with even dipping my toe in.  We had a couple of 44 C days that were made so much more bearable with a morning swim at Brunswick Baths.  And there was the wonderful lunch for my mum's birthday that I have written about: At the Heads, Barwon Heads where we ate overlooking the ocean.

Ripe Cafe, Sassafras

We had a great trip out to the Dandenong Ranges at the end of my week of holidays in late January.  It was the day after it had been 44 C so we noticed that many buildings were still a bit warm and stuffy after such heat but we appreciated how cool it was in comparison to the previous day.

Our first stop was Ripe Cafe (376-378 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd) which had an impressive menu for vegans and vegetarians and beautiful food for everyone.  It was also a lovely space with a large fireplace and dark wood paneled walls in the older part of the building and a more modern addition with a high ceiling fans and large windows onto the garden at the back.

Sylvia and I shared the Veggie Big Breakfast of Thai corn cakes with chilli jam, wilted spinach, guacamole, chargrilled pumpkin, dukkah & pecans, sourdough toast, beans, grilled tomato & mushrooms ($30), and Italian tomato arancini served with salad and aioli ($24).  They were both magnificent: beautiful and delicious vegan meals.  I really wanted to have one of the gooey brownies but there were other temptations nearby.

Miss Marple's Tearoom, Sassafras

Nearby the Ripe was the famous Miss Marple's Tearoom (382 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd), which feels like walking into ye olde English village tearoom.  Sylvia can't remember her last visit there so was excited to visit.  We had to walk up to browse the Through the Looking Glass bookstore (3/383 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd) first because we were full of lunch.  We also enjoyed looking at the crafts and gifts in the Little Eclectic Shop (1/372 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd).

Later we returned for scones with jam and cream plus some peppermint tea for me and red lemonade for Sylvia.  I was not so keen on the towering square scones which were not as fresh as I would like but the locally made raspberry jam was the fine quality you would expect in an area of Melbourne renown for its orchards.  Sylvia was pleased they had vegan scones with jam and coconut cream.  Hers weren't that fresh either but they were much better than just watching me eat mine!  

  

Miss Marple's Tearoom II

We were very pleased to be at Miss Marple's on the day when school went back when it was quiet and there was no waiting list.  You can't book so there are often queues.  It meant we sat in one of the darling window seats with floral curtains and cushions.  Even if the scones aren't fresh out of the oven, it is worth visiting.  There is so much to admire in the cosy village decor: the dark beans on the pale ceiling, the pots by the fireplace, the cute window seats, shelves around the walls holding old teapots, the black and white photos of Margaret Rutherford when she played Miss Marple on tv.  And the staff were really lovely.  You can read my post about a previous visit to Miss Marple's tearoom.

Cloudehill Gardens, Olinda

Our last place to visit was the Cloudehill Gardens (89 Olinda-Monbulk Rd) the next town along from Sassafras.  I had worried the gardens might look a bit wilting after a scorcher the previous day but they were gorgeous and green with lots of flowers and shade.  It was much cooler outdoors and I enjoyed strolling around.  We had a map but I got a little lost towards the end.

Merri Creek cycling trail

I've enjoyed riding by the Merri Creek on the my holidays.  It is always nice to ride in the strip of greenery and waterways.  

My bike had a few repairs last year but the most frustrating was the last one when the mudguards (technically called fenders)needed replacing.  I decided to go to a new place in late November who offered to order some in and give me a call.  They never called and when I finally rang in late December they said just come in when I could.  Finally in early January I did.  They said they were too busy.  I went home to check my diary and rang to arrange something and they said it would take a week.  By this time I was fed up and questioned that they had no time for a quick job.  So I was told to come in and I did.  I left the bike for a few hours and again they did not call me to say it was ready so I headed back.  When I got there I found that they had ordered the wrong type of mudguards and had my phone number right.  I asked for a refund and went to my usual bike shop.  They had new mudguards on my bike in a few days!

Harvest cafe, Daylesford

We drove to pick up a pillow we left at our Daylesford Accommodation in October.  We were excited to go to Harvest Cafe (29 Albert Street)early enough to order the tofu scramble off the breakfast menu (after failing to do this in October).  We got there early but the tofu scramble was no longer on the menu.  Instead we checked out the display cabinet.  

Sylvia made a beeline for the rice dishes: Dolmades ($1 each), Pumpkin tarragon rice cake ($4), and the Shiitake mushroom & sticky sushi jackfruit sandwich ($10.50).  I ordered the Apple & raisin sourdough fruit toast served with goats cheese & pear ($15) from the menu and a side serve of Cauliflower ceviche salad with green beans, coriander, pickles, cucumber, red onion.  Once I picked  out all the coriander I quite liked the simplicity of the salad.  It was a good meal all round.  The Two Boys elderflower and rose kombucha was also lovely.  You can read my post about my visit to Harvest Cafe in 2009.)

Paradise Bookshop, Daylesford

After brunch we collected the pillow and had a quick look in some shops.  I really loved Cedar and Sage gift shop but spent most of my time at Paradise Books (46 Vincent St).  It is a beautiful bookstore with lots of gorgeous greeting cards, second hand books, kids books and all the tempting fiction and non-fiction I would love to curl up with in one of the gorgeous rooms with bookshelves, a fireplace and a cosy armchair.  

As we drove home we listened to an episode of ABC RN The Music Show called "Lucy Dacus on feelings, bread, and roses; and 'a country trying to sing itself free' in Celtic Utopia".  I loved the part of the interview where Lucy talked about marriage.  As well as being a muso she is a marriage celebrant and has incorporated weddings into her concerts because she can and also to support couples who were concerned about visa issues in the current USA administration.  Fascinating stuff!  As you can see January had so much stuffed into it and February and March are both busy times.  So much to share and so little time to write about it!

 In the News:

January is supposed to be a quiet time for politics and current affairs but not this year.  We have had days in Victoria way above 40 C resulting in bushfires, loss of property and deaths.  Across the border,  NSW residents were dealing with heavy rains and flash flooding which gave rise to more shark attacks!  But other politics in Australia and America that have dominated the news so I have concentrated on these this month:

Australia was still reeling from the Bondi murders at Hannukah in Sydney and the fallout was intense and harmful:

• Grief and resilience in Bondi as community unites after deadly beach attack, John Anderson, Townsville Bulletin, 11 January 2026.
• There was little time to grieve before politics were played out that resulted in new hate speech laws which were called for by the Liberal National Party (LNP) who were in opposition.
• Disagreement about hate speech laws ripped apart the LNP who were much reduced in power as the two parties of the Liberals and the Nationals.
• The power vacuum has created the conditions for far right party One Nation to suddenly poll as the second preferred party in Australia, though it should be noted that the ruling Labor party still has a huge majority!  For now! 
• Read more about Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in If I had leg's I'd kick you, by Tim Dunlop in the Future of Everything substack, 27 January 2026.
• The Bondi attack resulting in unrest about the invitation for Israel Prime minister to visit Australia in February
• Read an insightful reflection on Bondi and the hate speech laws in The Great Silencing by Rick Morton on his brilliant Nervous Laughter blog, 15 January 2026. 
• Meanwhile a bomb thrown into an Invasion Day march in Perth of Indigenous people and allies (that was not detonated by dumb luck) was met with a shrug not a shriek (Daniel James). See Invasion Day articles further up this post.
• The Adelaide Writers Festival was cancelled after mass resignations in response to cancellation of Palestinian writer and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah for past statements on Israel.  It is illuminating to listen to Jan Fran's interview with Randa Abdel-Fattah in We Used to Be Journos, 13 January 2026.  
• Update on writers festival saga - Top authors signing up for alt Adelaide Writers’ Week An alternate Writers festival in Adelaide, InDaily, 28 January 2026

Meanwhile the Trumpian saga of rupture, racism and entitlement continues in the USA:

• Trump's intervention in Venezuela heralds an incomparable era by Laura Tingle, ABC News, 7 January 2026.
• Woman [Renee Good] in Minnesota fatally shot by ICE agent during raid, video shows: Mayor says ICE claims incident was self-defense are not true, and tells agency to ‘get the fuck out of Minneapolis’ in The Guardian, 8 January 2026. 
• Trump ties failure to win Nobel Peace Prize to efforts to acquire Greenland in message to Norway, CNN World, 20 January 2026.
• ‘Rupture in the world order’: Speeches by Carney, world leaders in Davos, Al Jazeera, 21 January 2026.
• Protesters gather in Minneapolis as governor calls on Trump to remove agents after shooting [of Alex Pretti], BBC News, 25 January 2026.
• Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, & NOFX Share New Anti-ICE Protest Songs For Minneapolis, by Chris DeVille, in Stereogum, 28 January 2026. 
• Donald Trump has Iran in his sights, but what is his endgame?, by John Lyons, ABC News, 30 January 2026.

More listening, viewing, reading:

Daphne: A Portrait of Daphne Du Maurier by Judith Cook.  I really enjoyed this book, especially the first half about her ancestors and youth that had fascinating memoirs by Du Maurier to draw on.  It was a nice coincidence that at one point, Du Maurier wrote about Branwell Bronte, bother of the Bronte sisters.  I had some context around his story, having recently read Dark Quartet: The Story of the Brontës by Lynne Reid Banks.  I love a literary biography and recommend both of these.

The Good Wife tv series which focuses on legal and political stories.  Julianna Margulies is the star as the eponymous good wife but I really loved seeing Josh Charles as a law firm partner having his principles challenged.  It felt like seeing how his character in Dead Poets Society might have turned out as an adult.

No one should call this place home, (which parodies Peter Allen's I still call Australia home) is featured on Tony Armstrong's Always Was Tonight, an ABC special.  It is sung by Aboriginal children about being locked up in gaol.  You can read more about the context on Pedestrian.TV: Tony Armstrong Takes Square Aim At Criminal Age Of Responsibility In New ABC Special, 22 January 2026.

But Also John Clarke about the Kiwi-Australian comedian.  It talks about some of his hilarious comedy on television and film but also of him being fun but also compassionate and challenging when facing injustices.  That is great leadership and great friendship as well as great art!

Joy (2024) based on the true story of the world's first IVF baby starring Bill Night, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton, showing how harmful attitudes to women and infertility could be in the 1960s and 1970s, and what a difference the science of IVF made to their lives.

Artists and Models (1955) with Jerry Lee, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine and Dorothy Malone.  This was a film that I loved watching on tv as a child and recently found on dvd because these old movies are much harder to find on tv these days.  It is a fun story involving a talented women, crazy dreams, a cartoon and the cold war politics, with a touch of not so admirable old fashioned attitudes.  It was such a great nostalgic trip to watch it again.

Challenger: The disaster five people saw coming, ABC News, 28 January 2026.  A really interesting piece of investigative journalism about the team of engineers who expressed scientific concerns but were overruled by management attitudes 40 years ago when the space shuttle explosion resulted in the deaths of the whole crew and a review of space travel.

In my Kitchen - January 2026

January was a busy month of holidays with lots of stone fruit and salads, swimming and sun cream.  It was a dry month with 2 scorching days of 44 Celcius  that left sad brown patches in the garden and kept us indoors with the air con on.  I had holidays on the first and last week in January so had time to relax and also time to go out.  In fact on the first week of January I ate out 6 out of 7 days.  That is a lot for me.  I will write more about eating out and other outings in My Monthly Chronicles soon.

At the start of January Sylvia changed her diet from vegetarian to vegan.  We have always eaten a lot of vegan food and now eat even more, though I still have some yoghurt and cheese on meals such as the above nachos and salad.  For a while Sylvia was so keen on eggs that it is odd not to have eggs is in the fridge.  Other than that, it has meant checking out lots of new products in the supermarket and trying new ideas in the kitchen. 
 

January starts with the end of the festive season.  We took down the tree, put away the cards and finished the treats.  There was leftover Christmas pudding, stollen, panforte and shortbread.   

One of my holiday meals that was easy to make and wonderful to eat was a Festive Roast Potato Salad that used up some of our Christmas leftovers and it is on my blog.

Vegan products 1: We tried lots of new vegan snacks.  One of my favourites was this bag of DJ&A mushroom crisps.  They were crispy dried button small mushrooms with very moreish seasoning.

Vegan products 2:  Damona vegan cheese is the only one that Sylvia has really loved.  She also is quite a fan of the Numo caramel chocolate bars - one of the good reasonably priced chocolate treats from the supermarket.  Which brings me to Sweet William rice crackle choc koalas.  I've never been a huge fan of their chocolate.  She liked the Plantein sweet chilli tenders but I was not so keen.  The FunDay caramel chews are nice but not really my thing.

Vegan products 3: Some vegan products were no surprise.  I have used Damona cheese before and I don't think it is a secret that Oreos are vegan.  We were impressed by the Oreo creme eggs, which were on sale when we needed to spend money quickly to get cash out at the supermarket for a purchase.  I was most amazed by Hellman's mayonnaise (because Hellmans do good egg mayonnaise it was good to see they can also do a vegan one that is not ridiculously sweet) and that our local Italian supermarket sells plant based Nutella that tastes good (and is made with chickpeas and rice syrup).

Vegan products 4: Sylvia really likes these little chia, rice and chocolate puddings.  I don't like those sort of desserts and was just amused by their name: Fancy Plants.

We returned to crispy tofu cutlets which we made in December 2023.  This time we tried in in the air fryer with a spray of oil.  I also double dipped it in the milk and breadcrumbs.  We served it with mash, gravy and green vegies.   Very good.  Perhaps not quite as golden as when shallow fried but delicious and crispy. 

Tofu cutlets always seem quite old-school vegetarian.  I quite like a lot of the older vegetarian recipes that have lots of nuts, tofu and beans rather than all the mock meat of today.  So I was delighted recently when Sylvia discovered the joys of reading my Moosewood Cookbook.  Of course she found it on social media but thank god someone is still talking about it.

One of our regular hot weather meals has been rice paper rolls.  We have been filling them with vermicelli noodles, vegies and fried caramelised tofu from micadeli.  That sticky tofu is so delicious we often eat some of it by itself but it also gives great flavour to the rice paper rolls without making it soggy.  I find that with the thick tofu sauce, the rice paper rolls it is plenty of flavour without a dipping sauce.  Mind you, I find that it thickens pretty quickly.  If I add 1-2 tbsp water to the sauce it means my sticky sauce doesn't quickly get dried on the bottom of my cast iron frypan.

It has been a month of lots of chopping up salad vegies but we have also been discovering some great new recipes that are bound to be favourites because they offer a lot for little effort.  

Another favourite was Zucchini pesto from Plant You.  It a matter of roasting zucchini and garlic and then blitzing them with cashews, basil, nooch, lemon and seasoning.  The sauce is quite velvety and lighter than regular pesto.  I really like that it holds its green colour longer.  It's been excellent with pasta especially on the first night when we had it with tofu bacon.

The zucchini pesto was great for lots of meals.  I had it for lunch with crackers rocket, capsicum and cherries.  (Mmmmm, cherries!)  I stirred some pesto into potato scones and then dipped the scones in more pesto.  And I had a lovely lunch of leftover pesto pasta with green capsicum, peas, tomatoes and cheese chunks.  (I had also wished I had celery in the fridge for it but we were out.)  

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We tried the meal prep burritos - also from Plant You.  Sylvia was keen to have burritos  whereas I prefer a burrito bowl.  Overall it was very good with Mexican spiced rice, tofu "beef" and chipotle lime cashew.  We loved the spiced rice.  I really liked the cashew cream, though Sylvia found it a bit sweet and not salty enough.  And of course we had lots of vegies.  

I was not a big fan of the tofu beef.  I didn't really like the overall texture of the chunks of spiced tofu and also felt it was not dark enough.  The rice and tofu were similar colours and I felt there should have been more difference.  My preference if I was to have these chunks would be a dark sauce rather than just a spice mix.  We found it was improved with a tin of whole black beans in a seasoned sauce - that you can see below.  Alternately it would be good to have the tofu cut smaller or grated and then fried up with brown lentils and finely chopped walnuts with a bit more of a sauce.  

The recipe for the meal prep burritos, was intended to make 10-12 burritos so it lasted us a few meals.  On the second night we had it for tea, we remembered that we had bought corn chips and this went very well with it.  

We have made the Mexican spiced rice again.  I have tried a couple of Mexican spiced rice recipes in the past but they have been fiddly and stuck to the bottom of the saucepan or taken a while in the microwave.  I am not sure it this rice was nicely fluffy without sticking because my paranoia about burning led me to use 4 and 1/2 cups of stock rather than 3 cups.  I think that the rice might also work with brown rice instead of basmati.

 

This meal looks similar to the meal prep burrito bowls but on this occasion I only made the spiced rice and did not bother with the tofu and cashew cream.  On top of the rice was grated carrot, celery, capsicum, tomato, lettuce, roasted almonds, diced cheese, yoghurt and chipotle plus Sylvia's seasoned chickpeas.  

It is just the thing to eat in front of the telly on a hot day and watching the tennis as I marvel at the skill and athleticism of the players, with the soundtrack of the thwack of the ball and squeak of the sneakers in the quiet moments between commentary and cheers!

On one summer day when we were busy Sylvia made nachos by layering corn chips, whole black beans from a tin, and grated Damona cheese. I topped mine with salsa, lettuce, tomato, purple cabbage, red capsicum and yoghurt.  You can see the final dish at the top of the post!  It was excellent. Just the thing for a night I was more busy washing all the potting mix off my arms than preparing dinner.

 

This was the work before our nachos dinner: re-potting the camellia.  I have had the plant for about 20 years and it was ailing so we took it out of its pot and found it was really root-bound.  It took a lot of work to take the dirt from around the roots so we could re-plant it in a larger pot.  I'd like to say it is flourishing now but it is a bit sad.  It is hard to know how much is from the heatwaves soon after or the shock of a new home..   

 

Sylvia is quite happy to eat the plant based Golden Gaytime ice creams.  I don't love the dairy Golden Gaytimes as much as I used to as a kid but I really liked this Lamington version.  It had a lot of chocolate with the coconut ice cream.  I know it is traditional to have the biscuit crumb coating but surely a Lamington Golden Gaytime could have some coconut flakes in the coating.

We had a trip across the river to the Melbourne's eastern suburbs to pick up this sweet little Tiffany lamp that Sylvia bought online.  It's looking lovely on her desk.

I made a collage birthday card for my mum.  Cakes, flowers and a cup of tea are her sort of thing.  We had a lovely celebration meal by the seaside restaurant.  I have written a post about lunch: At the Heads, Barwon Heads.

While out looking for second hand books to use for collage, Sylvia found a childhood favourite: Angelina Ballerina.  It made for a cute collage to hang on her wall.

We made some donations to the op shop.  I found a food processor that I had not used for 10 years.  It still worked so I hope someone else will find it useful.  I also reluctantly put this picture in to the op shop.  The framed poster has sentimental value because I bought it when in Berlin decades ago.  It is from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and is a photograph by Eugene Atget who was a photographer in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.  

The photo on the poster was taken by Atget in about 1900 of a house at 54 Rue Vieille du Temple on the corner of Rue des France Bourgeoise in the Marias in Paris.  It was built of stone, when most houses in Paris were made of wood, in the early 16th Century by the wealthy Jean Hérouet, a royal treasurer.  It was restored in the 19th Century, badly damaged by the Luftwaffe in World War II and subsequently rebuilt.  On our last trip to Paris, we stayed nearby in the Marais, but I did not know the connect with the poster at that time.

I have always loved looking at the blur of a human figure who was moving too fast for the long exposure needed by cameras in that time.  But I have too many pictures to find a home for it and hope that someone else gets as much enjoyment out of it as I did.

Much as I try not to accumulate too much a birthday is a time for a few fun presents.  An old plate, a cat and a book on a card, little elephant candles and a literary feminist book.  I am also looking forward to some experience presents.

Another fine meal was a One Pot Pearl Couscous with onion, kale, carrots, celery, sun dried tomatoes and chickpeas.  We added more vegies because we ran out of zucchini.  The coconut milk and nooch at the end took it up a notch to be something we want to repeat.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post's url to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for hosting this event that brings together wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.