Old Man Drew: a garden cafe in Ascot Vale

We were delighted to find the creative garden oasis in the city at Old Man in December and last month visited again on a gloriously sunny day.  The food is lovely but all the better for the beautiful surroundings.  The above photo is of the space with umbrellas suspended above a green house.  It would have been a wonderful place to eat but there is a tyranny of choices of amazing spaces.  Each feels lush with greenery, thoughtful with details and a complete delight.

Even the walls are green and the fence is full of greenery.  The garden is so full of life that it can barely be contained by the wrought iron railings.

This ceramic pumpkin is one of the sights to greet us on our first visit.  When we later peeked inside we could see a little fairy in a tiny bed.  The garden is strewn with such adorable details with the presence of wee fairies, and clever hands have crafted something magical out of found objects and historic detritus.  On our second visit, we saw the pumpkin again but the bed had fallen down. Like all gardens, the place is constantly evolving.

In the midst of the garden is a rusty old truck.  It is like discovering a secret garden with an intriguing history.  The plants and tables are arranged around it as it if was always there.  We thought we might sit at this table on our first visit with my parents but decided to move to a more shady space.

Moving meant leaving this cute little insect hotel.  One of the signs says "fly in, fly out".  It is so clever, and thoughtful and beautifully arranged.  Moving also means more discoveries.  It seems like every time we turned a corner we would find something else to delight us.

This was our new more shady, and more distressed, table.  On a warm summer day, all the greenery makes it feel cooling and calming.

I had a Cranberry Spritz ($10.00) of fresh fruit, mint, cranberry juice, and lemonade.  It was lovely and refreshing.  I liked how this spritz was included in the cocktails with non-alcoholic next to it.  Who of us who does not want an alcoholic drink has not read the cocktail list just for fun!  Sylvia had a Soy Iced Coffee, my dad had a Cold Pressed Pink Juice of apple, strawberry, lemon, mint, and pear, and my mum went for a flat white.

I ordered the Avo Toast ($24.00): smashed avocado on toasted sourdough with grilled roma tomato,
asparagus spears, capsicum jam, crumbled feta, dukkah and fresh lemon.  I was pleased that the egg was an optional extra rather than part of the meal because when you don't like egg, it seems to be all over breakfast and lunch menus.  Sylvia loved eggs and had the poached eggs on toast with an edible flower garnish.  My mum had a chicken and brie sandwich and my dad had the Moroccan lamb salad.  We were all very pleased with our meals.

On my second visit, with Sylvia and E, we again started at a small round table and decided to move to a bigger table.  We welcomed the autumnal sunshine as we ordered drinks.  Sylvia had a Summer Peach Iced Tea, E had a Latte, and I had a Cold Pressed Green Juice ($9) with apple, kale, pineapple, cucumber, mint and spinach.  My drink was a lovely combination of sweetness and earthiness.

On my first visit I had been tempted by the OMD Green Fritters.  I didn't resist the fritters on this second visit and ordered the OMD Veggie Fritters $25.00: corn, zucchini, kale, and sweet potato fritters, with
smashed avo, tomato and herb salsa, and house made capsicum jam.  Again I was pleased that the egg was an optional extra.  These were vegetarian and gluten free.  I really loved these fritters, perhaps more than my smashed avo.  E had fried eggs on toast and we ordered a bowl of chips to share.

Sylvia had the Brioche French Toast ($24.00) with berry infused mascarpone, decadent chocolate fudge
sauce, fresh berries and Canadian Maple syrup.  It was indeed indulgent and she loved it.  It is so easy to enjoy a meal in such beautiful surroundings. 

After we finished out meal, we walked through the gardens and buildings, enjoying exploring the spaces.  I wondered at how much work goes into tending all the plants and craft.  There are succulents and flowers and ferns everywhere.  Little fairy nooks are filled with miniature lives.  Colourful toadstools vie for attention among ceramic chooks and frogs.  Brilliant orange fish swim in an old bathtub.  An old trough with a mangle is decorated with mosaic tiles.  Old floral plates are glued around mirrors.  Flowers are made out of old glass plates and cups.  There is no end to the creativity and beauty.

Not only is the garden amazing but there are many wonderful spaces inside the old brick building that was originally a 1868 grocery store servicing miners en route to the goldfields.  It took on different uses over the years and a century after being built, it was purchased by the Drew Family where they ran Vic Drew Used Trucks.  (This explains the old truck in the garden!)  The business remains elsewhere today but the Drew Family have renovated the building as a cafe that is both a memorial to the old days and a beautiful cafe that appeals to instagrammers capturing the zeitgeist.

A glass-ceilinged patio that leads from the garden to the counter.  If you head in to pay, you are most likely to be distracted by so much to see.  Mirrors, statues and draping vines adorn the old brick walls.  There is a balcony here, though we were not quite sure if there is a public space upstairs.

By the counter are displays of food.  Cakes and slices are on display in the refrigerated cabinet.  Did I mention that they also do high teas?  Beside thee fridge are plates of croissants, scones, biscuits, chocolates and more.

An abundance of choice is available around the counter.  When we were there in December, there were lots of Christmas foods, old fashioned Santas and decorations for the tree.  There is plenty of temptation when it is not the season for gifting.  Opposite the counter are shelves of teapots, cups and saucers, jewellery, hanging decorations and all manner of marvels that are all for sale.

In December, as in this photo, the inside dining area was rather full.  It is lovely with old fashioned pictures, a dresser of crockery, an ancient cash register and plants aplenty, including in an old scale.  In May, it was fairly quiet because most of the customers were making the most of the sunshine outside.

On one wall is a little history corner of the Drew family, especially Victor Drew, World War I veteran and founder of the truck business.  Victor, who ran the business with his son Bill, is the eponymous Old Man Drew.  It is worth stopping by to read about him and look over the old photos and documents.

Downstairs is the cellar that would have seen a lot of items come and go from groceries to the drinks from when it was a wine bar. It has what must be the original old stone walls which can be admired from an old couch or a long table with what looks like an old church pew.  It looks like a place for a large family or a group of old friends to gather with glasses of wine raised in a toast, big shared plates of food and much laughter.

By the main dining room is a smaller more private room with another lovely old leather couch and a stag's head over the mantelpiece.  A room for gentlemen and cigars!  Not a place for vegan gatherings!

Then it was back outside to continue exploring the garden.  We admired the upcyling of items such as old nails used as stamens of metal flowers, old purple bottles made into hanging flowers, a bird cage filled with flowers, and tea cups catching the sun on a string of pearls.  There are many places we would like to sit next time and I am sure there are yet many other delights to discover.

Old Man Drew
359-361 Mount Alexander Road
Ascot Vale, VIC, 3032
Open 7 days a week 8am-3pm
www.oldmandrewcafe.com.au

My Monthly Chronicles - May 2024

I would find it hard to believe it is June if not for feeling the cold so keenly.  No doubt that is made worse with a head cold that I caught from Sylvia.  So May finished with too much time in bed and on the sofa with my cold. I am happy to report that the month was more interesting than that.  May has been busy with eating out at some amazing places and enjoying cycling around local bike tracks.  The above photo is from the Glass Den.

Glass Den, Pentridge in Coburg
When my sister Chris was visiting from Ireland we searched for a local cafe with impressive food and good coffee.  Sylvia chose the Glass Den in the former gatehouse of Pentridge Prison.  The place has changed since it first opened amid excitement about its vegan offering, but it continues to present beautiful, interesting dishes, even if there is no longer quite as much for vegans.  I was pleased Chris loved the Code Black coffee.  Dublin just does not do coffee like Melbourne!

I had the Glass Den Avocado Rose (above photo) with seasonal fruits, beetroot hummus, roasted mixed nuts, kale, lemon and a drizzle of house dressing on charcoal sourdough toast, with a side order of Persian feta.  It was so beautiful though the lychees were odd.  Sylvia upped the ante in pretty food with Bee in the Garden (top photo): little candy bees enjoyed a garden of honeycomb shaped waffles, yuzu custard, dried orange, seasonal fruits, meringue, vanilla ice cream, oreo dirt, honey and edible flowers.  She also had a beautiful blue pea latte.  My mum had a Korean Chicken Waffle Stack and Chris had a Roasted Pumpkin Salad.  We loved our lunch and it was lovely to catch up.

Historic Pentridge Prison
After lunch at the Glass Den we went for a walk around the complex that was formerly Pentridge Prison and still has many impressive bluestone buildings.  The above photo shows the old walls with the new apartment buildings behind it.  Beyond the bars of the gate is the Coburg Children's Centre.  It amuses me that the childcare centre is in a former prison but actually it is a great centre with long waiting lists (or was when Sylvia was younger).  We also had a quick look at the museum in the old Warders Residence.  It is quite small but interesting.  Finally we walked through the imposing Victorian entrance gates and went our separate ways.  

On my to-to list is a Pentridge Prison Tour.  I was looking at details online recently and got into reading about the fascinating and sad history.  One of the most interesting reads was an article on ‘Losing the Plot: Archaeological Investigations of Prisoner Burials at the Old Melbourne Gaol and Pentridge Prison’. 

Merri Cafe at CERES, Brunswick East
We are long time fans of CERES but it seems ages since our last visit.  Sylvia would point out she has been here more recently than me when she had lunch with her grandfather.  The Merri Cafe (Corner of Roberts & Stewart Streets, Brunswick East) is a lovely place to eat good food before heading off to look at the plants and organic groceries and maybe even wander around the environmentally sustainable space.  Sylvia had a kids cheese toastie plus a ginger ninja biscuit.  I had the vegan sausage roll: lentils, potato and sausage rolls.  The place has changed but the food is always delicious and on the healthy side.

Luther's Scoops, Brunswick
We finally had one of the fruit pies at Luthers Scoops on Blyth Street by the corner of Sydney Rd in Brunswick.  They don't sell them until 5pm so it was a late outing there.  We shared an apple crumble pie.  The lovely flaky puff pastry is made in-house.  The apples are locally grown.  We saw one of the growers bringing in a box of them.  Sylvia loved it.  I really liked it but I had hoped for a short crust pastry, which I really like with an apple pie.  We also shared a scoop of their amazing carrot cake ice cream.

Rays Cafe, Brunswick
I met Faye for a Japanese lunch but Ima Asa Yoru was closed.  So we walked down to Victoria Street to Rays (332 Victoria Street, Brunswick).  It was a difficult choice between pumpkin fritters on tofu cream and the mushroom special.  I chose the latter which had fried mushrooms, broccoli and other greens, tofu scramble, two generous sourdough toast.  I also had a pumpkin fritter on the side.  Faye had the burger and chips.  My meal was really filling and delicious, especially once I requested a small bowl of tomato relish.  We shared an amazingly good slice of toasted and buttered banana bread.  Rays menu with ominvore and vegan sections is great, though the names don't have the same fun of the heavy metal bands inspired names.

Torquay beach
Like last month, I had a quick walk along Whites Beach at torquay before a celebratory family meal.  This time my brother Paul came with me.  Although most of my siblings used to love the beach, now there aren't so many of us who want to go there.  But Paul always is up for a swim if he is about.

Watching: Happy Valley, season 3.  I love watching a police or law show but it is not often that you get an insight into life for the the criminal after they goes to prison.  This season of this amazing drama starring Sarah Lancashire and James Norton is as high quality and full of insights as the first two.

Mothers Day high tea
This year we celebrated Mothers Day with my mother at her house.  My sister was still visiting from Ireland and organised a high tea.  We all contributed.  There was plenty to eat that we brought along: finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, quiches, hedgehog, sponge cake, profiteroles, chocolate scones and a wonderful platter of cheese, pretzels, strawberries, grapes and lolly snakes.  Others did flower arranging or helped take photos.  It was the first time I was together with all my six siblings for a long time.

Political Satire: Sammy J farewells the 'Melbourne Airport Choo-Choo' - the project to building a much-needed trainline to the Melbourne Airport has yet again been delayed.  Sammy J's songs are always bound to give a laugh!

Pickles Milkbar, North Carlton
On my most recent In My Kitchen post I shared photos of wonderful sandwiches we ate which were brought home from Pickles Milkbar in 1008 Lygon Street, North Carlton.  The simple decor reminded me of the milkbars I often visited in my youth.  The pie warmer reminded me of having primary school lunch orders from milkbar of either meat pies or pasties.  The idea of a vegan milkbar would never have crossed our mind then.  I bought a pesto swirl from the pie warmer to snack on before riding home with the sandwiches.  It was hot and the sign warned it had cashews in it so I assume that was why the cheese was rich and delicious.

Trust Makers Market, Rippon Lea
We visited the Trust Makers Market in the splendid grounds in front of the historic Rippon Lea House.  It was busy with the Botannica festival being held alongside with plant sales and the CWA selling tea and scones.  Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time there.  We had to go before we got to explore the rest of the gardens and had no time for the queue for coffee or scones.  We did have a look at the stalls.  We were there to see my sister's peanut butter stall.  Her Frankie's peanut butter is really delicious.

Bilbo Snaggins, food truck
We had some good choices in a row of food trucks at Rippon Lea.  We chose Bilbo Snaggins with the slogan "one hotdog to rule them all" .  The name along was too fun to pass by.  We shared a Merry's Middle-Earth Meatless Dog: Meatless Sausage, diced tomato and salsa, sauerkraut and cheese (optional).  The other choices also had Tolkein names: The Fellowship (the lot), Samwise Sauerkraut, Pippin's Pepperoni Pizza Dog, the Sauron-ator Bacon-ator, Jaundolf the Mexican.  We had to wait 15 minutes but the customer service was great.  Sylvia would have liked the bun to be warmed but it was rather good.

A Community Talk: The reason we did not linger at Rippon Lea was that my dad had arranged for me to attend an Open House Melbourne talk on "Rail as civic infrastructure" at RMIT's Storey Hall.  It was quite interesting to hear about plans for Melbourne's new metro rail stations and how architecture could include pleasing community space.  Sylvia ended up joining us rather than heading into the city where the noisy Pro Palestinian marches were being held.

Miyama, Melbourne CBD
After the talk, when the noise of the Pro-Palestinian protests had moved on, we went in search of Sylvia's choice of cafe.  Miyama in on Level 2 of the Melbourne Central shopping centre near the Lonsdale Street side.  It took us a bit of walking to find it.  By that time my dad had to head home for his train (which he just made after encountering the protests again).  Sylvia and I shared a Matcha Swiss Roll.  I had a very refreshing yuzu spritz and Sylvia had a cappuccino.  Unfortunately we were there too late for their savoury menu.

Son in Law, Melbourne CBD
I really needed some savoury food after Miyama.  We were lucky to find be able to eat at Son in Law, on the ground floor of Melbourne Central, near the corner of Elizabeth and LaTrobe Streets.  It does the cutest food.  I had a crispy fried tofu slice, cucumber and tamarind sauce in a bear faced bao.  I asked for it without chopped peanuts so Sylvia could try it.  She had an uber cute Totoro bao stuffed with a nutella and banana filling.  We enjoyed them and the service.

Autumn leaves:
It is that time of the year with the deciduous trees sporting glorious oranges and russets foilage.  I took of this photo of autumn leaves glowing on one of my bike rides late in the afternoon as the setting sun turned them golden.

Reading: My Place by Sally Morgan.  This memoir from the 1980s has become a classic story of an Aboriginal woman seeking information about her family that was splintered by the cruel Stolen Generations practice of taking children from their Aboriginal mothers.

Acai Society, Coburg
We tried out the new Acai Society (605 Sydney Road, Coburg).  I am not really familiar with superfood acai so this was quite new to me.  I had acai soft serve with granola, bananas, strawberries and a nutella topping.  Sylvia's was similar with pistachio topping rather than nutella and no granola (which the staff thought might have peanuts).  It was ok in small quantities but I ended up leaving quite a lot behind.  Sylvia took her leftovers with her but they are still in the freezer.  Maybe it would be more attractive in the middle of summer.

Old Man Drew, Ascot Vale
We were lucky to go to Old Man Drew (359-361 Mount Alexander Road, Ascot Vale) on a gloriously sunny day.  It is a most beautiful cafe with an amazing garden.  We had vegetable fritters, eggs and French toast between us.  After lunch we loved exploring the garden and rooms with all their creative decorations.  I hope to write more about this place soon.

Interesting weblinks:

You're the guy from Tik Tok: Why this Melbourne train announcer is now a worldwide hit in SBS News, 7 December 2023.

Protests are firing up across our unis: as an academic it is a joy to witness: The Age, 9 May 2024.

The kids who can't: a Four Corners special on "school refusal" (video or transcript), ABC 29 April 2024.

Too Old to Run: the drug grannies - episode 1 and 2, podcast on ABC, June 2022.

In publicising Laura Tingle’s ‘counselling’, the ABC risks giving the bullies a victory by Margaret Symons in the Guardian, 1 June 2024.

‘You’re not going to believe what I’ve found’: Inside the fight to free Folbigg by Tim Elliot in The Age - Good Weekend, 18 May 2024.

My Monthly Chronicles 2024 is a companion post to In My Kitchen May 2024.  These two posts aim to catch up on meals, food and random notes both in my kitchen and outside it each month.  I do not have the time to post as much I would like on everything.  Where time permits I will write up some of these meals that deserve more attention than I can give them here.

In My Kitchen - May 2024

May has been alternately sunshine and rain.  A bit like life really.  One minute I am feeling good from more bike riding and making interesting plans.  The next I have a cold and am cancelling lunch with a friend.  We have been eating well at home and the garden is doing better.  The nights are so dark now that I am looking forward to the Winter Solstice in a few weeks.  May was a busy month with Mothers Day, a visit from abroad, lots of beautiful meals at cafes, and crazy politics (such as the Trump hush money trial and the Murdoch pile on of ABCs Laura Tingle).  I have writtenan overview at My Monthly Chronicles - May 2024 post about eating, outings and reflections outside my kitchen.

The photo above is of Shadow in the garden among Sylvia's pots.  One of the latest additions is a pot of dill.  You can see it under the netting.  A few months ago we planted dill and it was eaten overnight by some naughty night critter.  So when we planted it again, at what I am told is a better time of year, it has been covered in netting.  I have some new stakes and netting so we can give the dill more room to grow.  It is amazing how many meals would improve with some sprigs of dill.  We have many plans.

One amazing meal I made in the last month was French Onion pasta. The sauce was so tasty after frying the onion in lots of butter and oil but it was a bit soupy.  I added an extra tablespoon of flour and doubled the amount of pasta so it was thick enough.  I wonder if a little less butter and oil would mean we need less flour but what we did worked.  It was so delicious and comforting.

I made our favourite vegetarian sausage rolls to take to my mum's high tea supper for Mothers Day.  For a change, I shaped them after cutting because the knife often makes them uneven.  It improved how they looked.  We had half a square of pastry over so I put it into some mini pie tins to make quiche.  For the filling I mixed 2 eggs, 2 tbsp milk 2 chopped mushrooms, a handful of chopped spinach, some parmesan and seasoning.  I didn't eat it but Sylvia really enjoyed it.

We have had a few trips to KFL supermarket in Coburg lately.  It has so much interesting Asian food that we don't get at our regular supermarkets.  The vegetable buns that we bought were so good that Sylvia bought more to eat at her dad's place while watching the Eurovision final.  When we had them I used a steamer but Sylvia found she could microwave them at her dad's which seems even easier.  We also bought rice cakes (also see below picture and reflections) and tofu puffs.  The latter sat in the fridge too long and when I was about to use them in a stirfry I found that they were a couple of days past their use by date and too manky to use. So disappointing!

When it comes to Korean rice cakes or Tteokbokki, Sylvia still dreams of recreating the amazing Tteokbokki in mushroom sauce at Romeow cat cafe in Rome.  So when we bought the sliced rice cakes, I made a vegan mushroom gravy that had previously been a success.  It seemed thinner than last time so I added some extra flour.  I think that was a mistake because it made the gravy slightly too thick.  Sylvia was not impressed.  It did not come near to the highs of that Romeow dish.  I quite liked it, and the leftovers were even better the next day.

I always find reading In My Kitchen on other blogs an inspiration.  When I saw these cute cat chopsticks on Sammie's IMK on The Annoyed Thyroid, I had to have them.  Sylvia is loving using chopsticks for her noodles but they needed some new life.  We found a cheap set of the cat chopsticks online and are very happy to have them in our house.  Thanks Sammie!

While hurrying through KFL one evening, we saw inari skins on the end of an aisle.  Sylvia had been keen to try making inari at home so we bought a packet.  The deep fried tofu skins - also known as Aburaage - are marinated in a sweet seasoning and filled with sushi seasoned rice.  Inari and handrolls are easy to find at sushi counters in food halls in Melbourne and a convenient vegan snack or lunch.  We have tried making handrolls at home but never inari. Until now!

As well as being brilliant for inari, the Aburaage could be used for salads, sandwiches, miso soup and sushi handroll fillings.  I read that when cooked with udon noodles in Kitsune Udon or Fox's Noodles, they are the Japanese equivalent of chicken soup for illness.  We plan to buy more.

The packet said it had 40 inari skins.  We used them in two batches of inarizushi (ie filled with sushi seasoned rice) that together were filled with about three and half cups of raw sushi rice.  The skins opened fairly easily though I was surprised how fragile they were.  The second batch was bigger than the first because Sylvia made lots of extra inari to keep in the fridge for snacks.

My neighbour has had foot surgery and was given some apples she did not want.  I stewed them and made a delicious apple crumble using my favourite crumble recipe.

My citrus trees in pots have had too much neglect over the past year or so.  I am hoping I can nurture them back to better health.  The citrus leaf miner is a curse.  Every time I look at the trees I see more leaves that have the telltale silver trails of the leaf miner and am constantly removing them.  We have only had a handful of fruit over the past year.  It was a relief to have more in May.  They were quite speckled rather than their usual gleaming yellow skins.  There are ripening lemons and limes on the trees that look more promising if I can just keep an eye on them.

On a recent bike ride, I stopped to pick up these choc-a-block filled focaccia from Pickles Milkbar in Lygon Street, North Carlton, after I read about the place on Where's the Beef.  A vegan "milkbar" offering sandwiches, gyros, banh mi and pies is a real treat.  I had the Hot Breakfast #1: tofu bacon, tofu egg, fried onion, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, hot and sweet jam.  Sylvia had the Hot Breakfast #2: tofu bacon, hash brown, cheese, pickled onion, mayo, bbq hot sauce.  We really enjoyed them although they were so big, it was quite a challenge to eat them without a knife and fork.  I would have liked my tofu bacon a bit crisper but it was pretty good.  We hope to return soon.

Here's some pretty fruit and veg.  Sylvia made a batch of tofu bacon at the beginning of the past week and it was great to have it in a few different meals - pasta, pizza and salads.  She had fried slices of tofu bacon with fried egg, burger cheese, rocket, smoky chipotle sauce and slices of this lovely heirloom tomato.  I liked the medley of colours in the cherry tomatoes that I have had with some meals.  And I was disappointed that there weren't any more of the amazing crunchy packham pears from the previous week at the supermarket so I decided to try the rosy PiQa Boo pears.  They were nice with a crunchy skin but the flesh was softer than I prefer.

I bought these Vegemite 2-minute noodles because I hadn't seen them before.  They were nice but, as with these sort of 2 minute noodles, not amazing with just the vegemite seasoning.  We followed the suggestions to add a little butter and parmesan but even that wasn't enough to make me want to buy them again.

Ramen is high on Sylvia's list right now so she is interested in ramen products.  Sylvia loves noodles far more than me.  These Spiral Foods instant ramen are a treat.  We had hoped to find the mushroom ones as the seasoning had been great in a pasta dish.  But Sylvia was happy to have the brown rice noodles in shoyu soup.  She was also very keen to try the Spicy Ramen Twisties.  They were very spicy.  I prefer the classic cheese flavour and let Sylvia eat most of the packet.

 

 

We found Potato noodles at KFL.  They are chewier than the wheat noodles and Sylvia is smitten.  I enjoyed them with broth and lots of vegies but regretted adding two packets to a batch of tempeh and corn soup.

Sylvia has plans for these dinosaur cookie cutters from the supermarket.

This baked beer mac and cheese was on our list of meals to make for a few weeks.  When Sylvia finally made it, she merged these two recipes but did not add any milk or cream.  The final result was not as creamy as we expected but the fantastic crispy cheesy breadcrumb topping made it very moreish.

We have been making pizza on Friday nights.  A couple of weeks ago we were both very pleased with our pizzas.  Sylvia's had spicy tomato sauce, hash browns, veg schnitzel, egg, tofu bacon, burger cheese and parmesan, Mine was tomato sauce, mushrooms, roast pumpkin, red capsicum, kalamata olives and mozzarella cheese.  We have also taken to using scissors to cut the pizza, like my mum does.  Our pizzas have too much topping to do this when they are piping hot out of the oven but once it cools slightly the scissors are an easy way to cut it.

We tried this new Lindt Salty Liquorice block.  It was wonderful.  I have never really understood the appeal of salty licorice.  This dark chocolate is quite crunchy with salty chunks and the slightly bitter licorice flavour.  

I love chocolate so much but was sad to read in this article ("Scientists develop method of making healthier, more sustainable chocolate") that chocolate has a very large carbon footprint.  Together with Mae's blogging about chocolate shortages, I have even more reason to eat less chocolate.  Maybe I should try that salty licorice.  Wonder what its ethics are!

I am still making my fruit mince muesli to have with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast most mornings.  As I have used up all my Christmas fruit mince, the muesli is now made with a cup of dried fruit rather than fruit mince.  I really miss the fresh stone fruit and berries of summer.  Often I defrost some frozen raspberries to have with it.  

Recently I found a tub of apricots from my mum's tree in January.  They were chopped up so I only had to simmer them with some chia seeds and maple syrup to make a great variation on my strawberry chia seed jam.  It went so quickly.  Both of us could have just eaten it out of the jar with a spoon.  It was very good on the yoghurt.  We only had black chia seeds so it looks a little murky in the photo but I want to make more of this when stone fruit season comes around again.

One of our favourite side dishes is the Smashing Potato Salad from Enid Blyton Jolly Good Food by Allegra McEvedy.  Sylvia loves making it and eating it.  I think she made one of her best the other night to have with vegetarian sausages.  It had a creamy dressing with celery, tofu bacon, spring onions and parsley.  We can't wait until the dill is growing more so that we can add some to this salad.

 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 gorgeous hand drawn header.