In My Kitchen: June 2026

.

It is winter,  The solstice has just passed and the weather is chilly,  Yet June seems confused with trees finally bearing their autumn colours and daffodils flowering in the front garden!  In the kitchen we have had lots of colourful bowls of food.  It was a month of check ups - a bike service, a car service and a dentist check up.  Shadow had a slight rise in his proteins on a routine test but we were very relieved that the vet was alert but not alarmed about his kidneys, especially when we heard that the 6 year old cat next door died suddenly of kidney failure.  The Coburg History Society's Bluestone cottage closed for renovation in May and my volunteer work there has pivoted into packing up the content.

We have been out and about and I will write more about this soon when I post My Monthly Chronicles for June 2026.  This month I have posted about Aboriginal Street Art for Reconciliation Week, the Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries Tour, the Home": art installation by Rone at Chadstone Shopping Centre, and wonderful scrolls at Roll Bae.  

After visiting Roll Bae, we crossed Moreland Road and Nicholson Street to peruse Wakim Antiques (10 Nicholson St, Coburg).  I loved the eclectic cluttered display of old furniture and brick-a-brack from estate sales etc.  I fell in love with a c1930 Royal Wilton Green Tiger Lily Breakfast Tea Set.  It was green with pretty little details and a ceramic toast rack as part of the set.  I could not resist buying it to sit in my glass cabinet in the my kitchen.

 

I continue to eat this home made toasted muesli for breakfast with fruit and yoghurt most mornings.  It is a great way to make sure I get fruit into my diet.  I love how the fruit changes with the seasons but the apples I've been eating in the cooler months take longer to eat that the softer summer fruit.  Recently I have turned to eating banana with the muesli.  When I was a kid we always had sliced banana on cereal.  As an adult I am finally understanding how easy it is to slice and serve.  Banana also paired with well with the arils from pomegranates that were grown in my mum's garden.  Those mornings felt fancy.

When we bought sticky rice, I had no idea it had to be cooked quite differently than the rices I usually cook.  Sylvia had a go doing it the traditional way that involved soaking it overnight and then steaming it in cheesecloth.  I had no patience for this and found a method to cook sticky rice in the microwave (rinse a few times, cover 2 cups of rice with boiling water, microwave covered with a dinner plate for 7 minutes, stir and return covered for another 3 minutes)  I have tried it a few times and it works fine.  Above is a very good rice bowl with sticky tofu, broccoli, cucumber, edamame, grated carrot, pickled onions, pickled ginger, sauerkraut.

Our cat is a curious little boy.  Shadow loves an open door in the kitchen.  Look at him inspecting the fridge.  I think he is looking for his beloved cheese.  

Shadow also appears whenever we are making pizza on Friday nights.  He loves to sit on a chair and watch, especially when I get out the cheese.  Sylvia has tried to interest him in her vegan cheese but he turns up his nose at it.  He knows what he likes!  We have been enjoying chopped baby spinach on our pizzas recently.  Sylvia likes it with sausage, schnitzel and olives, while I like mine with mushroom, red capsicum and olives.  Both of us have tomato sauce and cheese!

The ants are driving me crazy!  They came out when it rains.  Lately they have been in visiting in such numbers that I have put down traps which are now see-through.  It is fascinating and unsettling to see how many of them have been in the trap to take the poison back to their nest.  Then the next time it rains they increase again!  (I am sure killing them will throw nature out of kilter but I can't have so many in the house.)

It was frustrating to come home after work to find that I could not get in the back door as the door knob would not turn properly.  I tried many things including the credit card trick but it would not budge.My dad came to help out with his hacksaw and we are very happy we can go through the doorway out into the back yard again.

Tempeh is amazing!  I am so glad that Sylvia has finally come to love it.  Above is how she served her first go at frying tempeh with a marinade.  It was really good.  Served with a couscous salad and freekah salad from IGA, cucumber and spinach leave, pickled onions and sauerkraut.

We visited the vegan market at Coburg Town Hall and I bought home a vegan pork floss bun from Better Now Bakes.  I am not familiar with this sort of Asian bun.  The taste lots of umami with mushroom floss that was really savoury and stuck on with mayo that was oddly sweet, all on a soft bread roll.  The roll was so good and the savoury and sweet flavours were odd in a good way.  The bun looked hairy like a muppet (think fozzy bear) so I added some olive eyes to amuse myself!

Probably my favourite new recipes I tried in June was Meera Sodha's Vegan Broccoli, Fennel, Chickpea and Orzo Stew.  I would like a bit more fennel in my diet and this was a good reason to eat it more.  So delicious!  I made a few changes: I upped the orzo to 250g and added 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1 cup peas, 3 leaves of kale and about an extra cup of water.  It had lots of greens, a an amazing creamy sauce that had added fennel flavour.  We had the leftovers with tofu scramble, lemon dill quinoa casserole and pickled onions.

 

We've had lots of colourful meals (clockwise from top left):

• Mexican spiced rice with seasoned black beans, air fryer roasted cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion, lettuce, pickled purple cabbage, red capsicum. We have been having the spiced rice in rice bowls so often that I posted it this month.
• Bean Miso Pasta with peas, roasted pumpkin, broccolini, pickled onion.
• Meera Sodha's Sprout Nasi Goreng with corn, fried tempeh and pickled cabbage.  I really liked the idea of brussel sprouts in the nasi goreng but only had half the sprouts so added kale and peas.  It was quite mildly flvoaured (even with amping up the seasonings) and I suspect would have been better if I had bothered to follow the recipes and marinate some of the sprouts to serve on top.  
• Bean Miso Pasta with broccolini, peas, tofu bacon, pickled onion and sauerkraut.  Now Sylvia is making the bean miso pasta with a handful or two of spinach so it is green.

 

We can't get enough of pickled onions right now.  First it was jars of it from the supermarket.  Finally I tried a quick pickled onions (a mix of Tinned Tomatoes and Love and Lemons recipes).  I hope to post more about them soon.
 

On the way home from the dentist, we stopped at Tylers Milkbar in Preston for some baking.  It was almost 1pm and the baking display had slim pickings and the staff seemed rushed off their feet.  We didn't try to get a seat but just took a huge slab of amazing Vegan Pumpkin, Walnut and Parmesan Focaccia and a square of lovely Blueberry Crumble Cake.  You can read more about their wonderful offerings at my last year's post on Tylers Milkbar.

 

I stopped at Bake Alley Bakes in North Coburg when my bike ride took me nearby.  I wanted a loaf of bread but it was sold out so I contented myself with a fantastic focaccia topped with leek, potato, gruyere and a spicy herb spread (I didn't hear what it was but wish I had asked them to repeat it) and I also got one of their amazing dense and fudgy tahini cookies.  I ate the focaccia with Mock tuna (chickpea) salad and had plenty of both leftover for other meals.

We returned to the Lemon Dill Quinoa Casserole from In My Bowl (you can read about our first go at it in my June 2024 In My Kitchen post). Sylvia made it while I was at work and I was so happy to arrive home after a cold bike ride to this warm dinner. 

We love sticky tofu so Sylvia tried a new version.  This crispy tofu with sticky sweet and sour sauce from @le_cocque on TikTok tasted so so good.  It had garlic, ginger, soy sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, rice vinegar, cornflour (cornstarch) in the sauce.  This is Sylvia's bowl where it was served with sticky rice, cabbage, carrot ribbons, cucumber ribbons, edamame, pickled ginger, pickled onion and sauerkraut.  

My mum heard somewhere about mixing bicarbonate soda with just enough dishwashing detergent to make a paste into a miracle cleaner!  I am a convert.  (Read more about how it works.)  Since discovering it, I have cleaned lots of things - the enamel baking dishes, our the outside of our plastic kettle, tea stains on mugs, the oven door, saucepans and the stove top.  Above are pictures of my stove top before and after with a bonus work in progress picture.  The stove top looked like new when I finished.  This is a game changer!

I got tempted by these Dubai Pistachio Chocolate muffins from Woolworths supermarket.  They had a gooey blob of crunchy pistachio cream on top.  The supermarket muffins were a bit green but not worthy of the Dubai Chocolate topping and did not have nearly enough choc chips!

We had a collaging session at the kitchen table late one afternoon and did not want to stop to make dinner.  Instead I ducked out to pick up a vegan potato and onion pizza from Green Acre Pizza in Brunswick.  It was just what we needed while we kept on with our crafting.

This is the collage I made.  I think the giant cat on the sofa might have been unconsciously inspired by the iconic Goodies Kitten Episode.

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 to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her delightful seasonal hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this event that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens. 

Cloudehill Gardens, Miss Marples Tearoom and Ripe Cafe: a day out in The Dandenongs

The Dandenong Ranges on the east of Melbourne have long been a magnet for the city's day-trippers.  We had a wonderful day out there in late January with fantastic food, fun shopping and a walk around a lush green gardens that was very welcome after the record breaking heat the previous day. 

We are lucky to have such a beautiful part of the state on Melbourne's doorstep.  It is slightly over an hour's drive from the inner north.  The last part of the drive has great views as the road heads upwards into the hills.  Visitors can enjoy scenic drives, lookouts, walks, gardens, cafes.  (The Dandenongs are not to be confused with an outer south east suburb of Melbourne called Dandenong.  The mountain range and the suburb are joined by the Dandenong Creek.)

Ripe Cafe 
376-378 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras

In late January, Sylvia had only been vegan a few weeks.  When thinking about where to eat, we were both wondering if we could get her a good meal.  There weren't heaps of promising places but we only needed one one good one and we found it in Ripe Cafe.  It had an impressive menu for vegans and beautiful food for everyone.

The day before, we had been sweltering with the air conditioner on in 44 C heat.  We had been making contingency plans in case there were bushfires in the Dandenongs.  It was a relief that it was a cooler day and no bushfire warnings when we set out but the buildings were still a bit stuffy.  

One of the signs of that scorching hot day that I remember most was out the front of Ripe.  The hydrangea flowers by the fence were mostly brown and crispy from the extreme heat.  With hindsight, I can see that these outdoor tables were probably the coolest but we were still craving air conditioning!

Inside the building we were welcomed by the rich dark tones of the wood panelling of the older part of the house that is one of the original houses from the early 20th Century soon after it become a village.  It has a rustic cosiness that would be great in winter. 

We sat in the older part of the cafe but at the end where we could enjoy the natural light where it opened onto the back deck.  This is a modern extension in pale wood with large windows opened up to the green trees out the back.  Fans were rotating in the high ceiling but it was still warm inside.

Sylvia and I shared the a couple of items because it was hard to decide which one we each wanted most.  We had the Italian tomato arancini served with salad and aioli ($24).  They were beautifully served with quite a substantial side salad of lettuce, cucumber, carrot, tomato, red pepper and red onion.  I love it when the side salad is bigger than its companion.  The crispy arancini were a fine match for the salad being crisp and tasty.  To drink I had a Remedy wild berry kombucha and Sylvia had an iced coffee.

We also had a magnificent 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 a side order of vegan feta ($5).  This was so innovative and beautifully executed.  I really loved that they had the corn cake (even if the chilli jam was a bit too spicy but not outrageously so) and the pumpkin and pecans were also unusual but they worked.  Kudos for the lovely charred tomatoes and I approve of mixing the greens and mushrooms.  The home made beans and the feta were also delicious.  

It was heartening to see how good vegan food could be in the foothills of Melbourne.  On the way out, I really wanted to have one of the gooey brownies at the counter but there were other temptations nearby. 

Through the Looking Glass bookstore
3/383 Mount Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras VIC 3787

Sassafras is one of the tourist towns in the Dandenongs with some fine shops.  We wanted to visit Miss Marple's Tearoom but were so full we browsed the shops first.  We passed the delightfully named Geppetto's Workshop toy store and the sweet aromas of Bluestone Candles before arriving at the gorgeous Through the Looking Glass bookstore.

The displays of books inside is attractively displayed in old wooden bookshelves that are filled with second hand books and on glass shelves with lots of mirrors and lights.  We were first attracted by a great selection of children's literature and then darling literary gifts.  It is filled with books I would love to read and I left with a purchase of the Red Queen by Margaret Drabble, which very much enjoyed reading.

The Little Eclectic Shop
Shop 1/372 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Sassafras 

 

One of the reasons to visit Sassafras for Sylvia was The Little Eclectic Shop.  She knew of it because she is a fan of Moons Claygrounds that sells its gorgeous mushroom pottery here.  But there was so much more to see.  Lots of charming hand crafted items and carefully chosen eclectic second hard wares.  The shop is actually a series of sections by different sellers.  The displays are works of art.  

In this display alone you can see tea cups, floral kitchen canisters, earrings, wooden carved owls, fans, fabric mushrooms, vases, china thimbles, silver jewelry, memorial tea spoons, bunting.  Elsewhere were hard cover Enid Blyton books, stickers, felt dinosaurs, tiaras, hand knitted beanies and bookmarks.

One of my favourite items was the vintage candy dispenser that you can see above which was filled with odd buttons.  Also in the bottom left hand corner is a silver filigree butterfly hair barette with a stick that I bought for Sylvia for her birthday.  She loved it.
 

Miss Marple's Tearoom
382 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, Sassafras

The famous Miss Marple's Tearoom is just a few doors down from Ripe so we could not pass up the opportunity to visit.  Initially we were concerned that there was nothing more for Sylvia than a drink.  Then we were delighted when she saw online that they have vegan scones with jam and cream.  It is such as delightful slice of English village life in an unlikely setting.

The exterior recreation of an English cottage looks odd in an Australian bush town.  Walking inside is like stepping back in time.  I have been there a couple of times previously.  You can read my post about a previous visit to Miss Marple's tearoom for Christmas in July.  Sylvia can't remember visiting with me and her dad when she was 2 years old.  (A couple of photos from that visit are in this post.) 

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. Unlike past visits, there was plenty of choice for where to sit.

There is so much to admire in the cosy village decor: the dark beams on the pale ceiling, the pots by the fireplace, the floral table cloths, the cute window seats, and the shelves around the walls holding old teapots. I am sure it would be a lovely setting for one of Miss Marple's denouements after solving a crime.

On the walls are black and white photos of Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple.  She was well known in the 1960s for her role playing the amateur detective in films based on Agatha Christie's murder mystery novels. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster in villages riff with gossip and secrets.  I imagine that she would be quite at home in the this tea room but I am not sure the scones would be quite up to her standard,

This is the window seat where we sat.  Although it was a quiet day, the window seats were popular and we were lucky to chance upon one when someone was leaving.  It is so charmingly frilling and floral and cosy.

As I mentioned above, the scones were not the best I had had.  I was surprised that the normal scone were large wedges cut from a tray of scones rather than the traditional round scones.  They were a bit dry too but nice with jam and cream.  I was lucky that mine weren't as dry as Sylvia's round vegan scones.  She had vegan whipped coconut cream which was a nice gesture but a bit melty as coconut cream can be.  The highlight was the surperb home made strawberry jam.  That is to be expected in a part of Melbourne well known for its orchards and berry farms.

It is one of those ironies that we long for a traditional devonshire tea because it is part of the culture we grew up with but love the idea more than the reality.  My mum still regularly whips up a batch of scones.  Traditional scones are made with butter as well as heaped with crea.  Not at all vegan-friendly.  Sylvia had a big glass of red lemonade because we were still recovering from the scorcher the day before.  I had a peppermint tea and I do not like what a friend would call normali-tea.  Tanens do not agree with me.  Also I am not keen on cream.  We were not there for scone but for the vibe and despite the scones not being perfect, we were very happy to have afternoon tea at Miss Marples. 

 

 

One other highlight was the staff.  They were really friendly and seemed happy to have a quiet day after the busy summer school holiday period.  It made for a relaxed visit.  After we paid, we had a look at all the jams and teapots on the old dresser by the door.

There were also many more tea pots on the shelf that ran around the high up the wall.  They were so fun to view with lots of them reflecting the traditional English villages such as the ones above in the shapes of an old cottage, a railway station, a red postbox and a table set for tea.  These were the sort of teapots you might find in an old fashioned English home and added to the charm of the tea rooms.

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 colourful flowers and welcome shade.  It was so much cooler outdoors and I enjoyed strolling around.  

 

The gardens had some very formal landscaping with lots of hedges and entrances to spaces framed by hedges or garden walls.  We only occasionally saw another couple wandering around but mostly it felt quite private.

 

 

Most but not all the details in this photo collage were from the more formal parts of the garden.  The flowers, water lilies, grape vines and occasionally pieces of garden art.

 

This tree was wonderfully complex with twirly branches twisting out at all angles like athe snake haired Medusa or maybe even like a bonsai tree all grown up!  It would not be out of place in a spooky horror movie or as one of the talking trees in Babes in the Wood.  As you can see, it evoked so many wonderful images!  

On the website, the history focuses on the 1920s for bringing rare and exotic plants from England, the USA and Japan.  I would have liked to ask if this was one of the trees that are almost 100 years old if I had read about these before we visited.

This view from the back of a brick shelter over a bench seat is another example of the wonderful framing of the garden.  We sat here for a rest and were surprised to hear what we thought were bells.

 

This was the pleasing view from our bench seat.  Lush garden framed the steps to The Commedia dell’arte Lawn.  I walked up that way in the direction of the bells but could not see anything and it was surrounded by hedges.  Instead I enjoyed admiring pieces of art.
 

Later as I walked high along by the kitchen garden, where I wished I could have some of the abundance of zucchinis or rhubarb.  I could hear the bells again so I followed the path to this structure that had huge wind chimes that were ringing out in the breeze like some mysterious magical calling.

From the bench seat, Sylvia and I parted ways as I decided to go further down into the less formal part of the garden.  There were avenues of trees, gentle steps, occasional artworks but less of the framing hedges and walls with flowers and water features.  Above is the Beech Walk.

In the less formal parts I would come across statues such as this one among the urns.  Some statues were the classical sort sort you might expect in a Victorian garden and there were quite a few of this woman.  I don't know who she is but it looks more person than the classical statues.

Towards the end I got lost, despite the helpful look of this little wombat figure at the top of stairs with tree ferns either side.  The map I was given at reception got confusing in the wilder areas.  Since then I have seen the map on the Cloudehill website which looks more helpful.  It has more details of the garden drawn in and comes with information about different areas.  Perhaps if I had had this map I would not have been messaging Sylvia that I would meet her at the gift shop as soon as I could find my way there. 

Tealeaves Tea Shop
29 Olinda-Monbulk Rd, Olinda

Our last stop was in Olinda where I was attracted to this find piece of Alice in Wonderland art on the wall of the Tealeaves tea shop.  I took a photo and had a quick look in the shop.  I remember when the Tealeaves shop was close to Miss Marples Tearoom in Sassafras.  The tea shop moved to Olinda in 2025 so they had more space for the huge range of mugs, teapots, tea accessories and loose leaf teas.  

By then I was quite tired and it was I was quite tired and could not give the shop the attention it deserved, but I enjoyed looking over the Australiana mugs and quirky teapots.  However I had a long drive ahead of me so I was soon back in the car to head home.

More Dandenongs visits in Green Gourmet Giraffe posts:

• Miss Marples - Christmas in July, 2008
• Tulip Festival - 2012 
• Puffing Billy - vintage steam engine journey, 2013
• 1000 steps (walking track) in 2014