My Monthly Chronicles: October 2025

October was a busy month with a holiday in Daylesford as well as exhibitions, concerts, shopping, convents - yes we visited two former convents -  and good food.  (See my In My Kitchen post for more about our food at home in October.)  Our spring weather has been a yo yo between bleak grey skies of rain clouds and glorious sunshine.  The above photo was taken a on a lovely warm day when the the sunshine dappled the shadows of the magnificent trees of the Flagstaff gardens in the CBD. 

I had ridden my bike to pick up a Colin Thompson book that Sylvia had ordered.  I highly recommend you check out his wonderfully detailed whimsical illustrations in his children's books.  The roadworks at Victoria Street near the Vic Market meant a detour to my usual route, taking me past the Flagstaff Gardens.  It was such a pleasure to see many people enjoying the sunshine in such a splendid green space in the city centre of Melbourne.

Tylers Milkbar, Preston

We dropped in on our favourite Tylers Milkbar (656 Plenty Road).   It was the last weeks of the winter menu so we enjoyed drinks and soup from the specials menu.  I had a milo hot chocolate with home made marshmallows.  Sylvia had an iced popcorn matcha latte.  The Roasted broccoli soup was thick and spiced and warming with a generous sprinkling of pangratta.  We also shared the wonderful "There's a leek in my toastie" filled with cheese, garlic, leek, pickles and tofu bacon.

Holiday in Daylesford

We had a wonderful short holiday in rural western Victoria at Daylesford.  The Daylesford Convent Gallery was one of the highlights with its gorgeous artwork and architecture . Above is the view of the town from a balcony at the gallery on a  on a sunny day.   It was also one of the fine places we ate well.  You can read my posts about our trip at:

• Daylesford Accommodation 
• Daylesford Hotel: a grand country pub
• Daylesford Convent Gallery  
• Daylesford eating out: Cliffys, Hot Chocolate Apothecary and Daylesford Larder 
• 12 Daylesford shopping and sightseeing highlights 

 

Abbotsford Farmers Market

We got along to the Abbotsford Farmers Market in the grounds of the former convent in Heliers St, Abbotsford which operates on the second Saturday of the month.  It was a smaller market than I expected but had some good food: baking fresh fruit and veg, coffees, drinks, preserves, plants, pottery etc.  We stopped for a chese and vegemite pretzel - so good - and an amazing banana bread iced matcha latte.  If we hadn't planned to have lunch, we would have been tempted by more food to eat there but as it was, we mostly bought food to take home.

Abbotsford Convent

I enjoyed wandering around the heritage convent buildings while at the Abbotsford Farmers Market.  The old convent once housed an industrial school and Magdalen Laundries for 'wayward girls'.  Today it is a community space with artists studios and many events.  I got so lost exploring the warren of corridors and staircases - including the grand Bishop's Parlour - that I forgot to go outside to wander around the beautiful heritage gardens at the back.  We spent most time enjoying the splendid courtyard (see above photo) with the cloistered walkways, a huge in the middle  and a jungle of plants under a pergola.   

Cam's Kiosk, Abbotsford Convent

At the beginning of the year I had promised to take Sylvia to Cam's Kiosk and then life got in the way so finally she put this it in my diary.  It was a really beautiful place to eat.  There were seats outside on the edge of the courtyard.  We chose to sit inside in a generous sunlit room with an arched doorway, a wooden bar and warm lamp shades on stylish arched stands.  

I was pleased to find a new fizzy drink called T.I.N.A. which stands for This Is Non Alcoholic!  They have a few flavours.  Mine was high mountain oolong, calamansi, rose & lemon myrtle.  It was not cheap at $12 a can but was lovely and refreshing with subtle flavours.  To eat I had the vegan Fusilli with porcini & cashew cream, cime di rapa and pangrattato ($30) and Sylvia had the Spaghetti with Napoli sauce, buffalo mozzarella and oregano ($30).  We loved our meals with fantastic fresh pasta. 

The pasta sauces were so good that we would have loved bread to mop it up at the end.  But I was not prepared to pay $14 for the sourdough bread with carraway butter.  It made me yearn for the old school Italian restaurants which serve free bread with a bowl of pasta.  I wrote about this sort of restaurant this month in my post on Tiamo in Carlton,

Holy Grail Plant, Abbotsford Convent

We dropped in to the pop up Holy Grail Plant store in another door off the courtyard at Abbotsford Convent.  It was beautifully arranged with a gorgeous couch around the fireplace which was only fitting for the rare and exotic plants that were some of the most expensive I have never seen.  Prices of $500and $1000 are unusal where we usually buy plants!

At the Movies:  Saw The Ballad Wallis Island about a has-been musician paid handsomely to play a concert at a tiny island in the UK.  It was a heartwarming story with an unexpected twist and some great humour.

Son in Law, CDB Melbourne

We love the cute bao at Son-in-Law and decided to eat there before we went to the Water Music concert in the city.  We were ordered more than we could eat: a blue and a pink savoury bao each filled with fried tofu, cucumber, [omitted peanuts], coriander, tamarind ($7.5), tempura broccoli with chilli sauce ($8), a bowl of chips ($7), crispy soft boil eggs with tamarind sauce ($9), a green tea filled sweet alien bao ($7.80).  The baos are so gorgeous but the green filled green alien was the one we really ooed and ahed over on this visit.  We took some leftovers with us after a fine meal.

Water Music by Brandenberg Orchestra

I happened to see free tickets at work for the Water Music concert in the Melbourne Recital Centre in Southbank.  I don't see a lot of classical music live but this filled me with a desire to attend more.  The Brandenberg Orchestra, with their conductor playing the harpischord, played Handel's Water Music interspersed by modern compositions by composers Nick Wales and Rrawun Maymuru (Nguy Gapu, Harbour Light, and Cloud Beneath the Sea).

I was absolutely mesmerised. The 18th Century triumphant music of Handel was written for the King George 1 to ride a barge down the Thames in London to demonstrate his power to the crowds. The 25th Century pieces had music that brought to mind swirling, rippling, running water.  The music from different periods and cultures were brought together seamlessly with the most impressive moments being when sung in his Indigenous language.  He is a Yolgnu songman from North Arnnham land in the far north of Australia and the grandson of the late esteemed Dr Yumupingu.  I wished so many more people could see this amazing performance.

Archibald Prize 2025, Geelong Gallery

The Archibald Prize is the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia.  Each year it tours to different regions and this year was on show at Geelong Gallery. This regional gallery is still in the fine Victorian building (above) that I remember visiting as a child.  It is in a great creative community precinct of impressive architecture with the Geelong Performing Arts Centre opposite and you can see a part of the impressive dome of the new Geelong Library building in the top right of the photo.

Archibald Prize portraits 2025, Geelong Gallery

This was my third visit an exhibition of the Archibald Prize.  Each time I have been blown away by the diversity, the whimsy, the beauty, the skill and the creativity of the portraits.  Here is just a sample of the portraits.   So many different ways to paint a person.  Some of the faces are familiar Australian celebrities, such as Aaron Chen, Kathy Lette, Nicole Kidman, Miranda Otto and Costa Georgiadis.  Others are artists, Indigenous people, politicians and other notable people.  It was great to take time to read about each painting and subject before heading to see my parents and siblings in Geelong for my dad's birthday afternoon tea.  My mum had done a great job of baking scones, profiteroles, hedgehog and Guinness chocolate cake.

Tammy's Boreks, Preston Market

We dropped in at Tammy's Boreks at Preston Market for their famous vegan boreks.  I was most impressed with the Green Power borek with caramelized onion, green lentils & kale (above), but also enjoyed tasting the Spicy lamb and potato and the Cheese and spinach.  I hope to return to try other boreks.

On the telly: I had a lovely evening repairing a hole in a bathmat while watching Jarvis Cocker interviewed on Take 5 where celebrities discuss 5 favourite songs (a bit like dessert island discs).  I love his stories.  They are always entertaining and insightful.

Highpoint shopping centre food court

I always have trouble finding something that is satisfying and healthy at a shopping mall food court.  So I was pleased to have a vegie bento box at Highpoint Shopping Centre food court recently.  It had silken tofu on salad, pickles, seaweed salad, a crispy potato croquette, corn on the cob, edamame and rice.  Sylvia loved having veggie sushi handrolls and seaweed inari.  We had some clothes and Christmas presents to buy before heading down to Geelong to see my mum before she flew to Ireland to visit my sister in Dublin.
 

Baguette Studio, North Melbourne

I try to take lunch to work most of the time but occasionally go for a walk to buy something to eat.  Recently I went to Baguette Studios (15–27 Wreckyn Street) who do beautiful French Korean fusion baking.  I had a large soft pumpkin and honey scone and I took home a fudgy matcha brownie for Sylvia.  We both keep talking about returning because it was so good.

Reading Small Island: I happened across this book by Andrea Levy in an op shop while Sylvia was browsing and started reading it.  The story of a Jamaican serving in the British airforce in World War II and then returning to the UK as a migrant in 1948 was a perspective on the war that was new to me and fascinating.  It had some similarities to Australian Aboriginal people who served in the war and then were subjected to appalling racism when they returned home.  I loved this book that I finished recently and would love to read more books by Andrea Levy.
 

The Presentation Our Lord Greek Orthodox Church, Coburg

I often pass this Presentation of Our Lord Greek Orthodox church (29 Victoria St) which is tucked away between the supermarkets and railway line in Coburg,  I had time while walking by a few weeks back to go into the courtyard to look up close at the portico and artwork.  It is a sign of the diversity in the suburb that has always been a magnet for migrants, whether on the way to the goldfields in the 19th Century, in search of postwar industrial jobs in the 20th Century or to be welcomed as a refugee in the 21st Century.

Beit Siti, Coburg

After tasting the amazing focaccia from Beit Siti (150 Bell Street) earlier this year, we were excited to finally go there for a meal.  It is a set menu made for sharing with two choices: vegetarian or vegan.  We had the vegetarian Mama's Breakfast Sofra which was a great spread of : hummus, ful, tomato sauté (Galayet Bandora), soft cheese, fermented yoghurt, labneh, stuffed eggplants, olives, pickled cucumbers and zaatar oil, all served with flatbread.  There are also gorgeous pastries and cakes at the counter but we were really sad they are no longer making the focaccia.  This delicious Palestinian food is based on the owner's traditional family recipes.  I hope to write more about this place soon to give it the write up it deserves.  

Saprito, Southbank

I arranged to meet with my dad and my friend Heather at Saprito (12-16 Kavanagh St) before the 2025 final of the Herald Sun Aria competition.  Our plans went awry and we got there late.  It was a day of miserable wet weather that meant no bike riding, our trains cancelled and the tram where my dad and I met was mysteriously changed from no 1 to no 3.  It meant a very quick meal from the display.  I had this spinach and cheese pastry roll with a hot chocolate to warm myself.  

I am pleased to say that the Herald Sun Aria performances was uplifting.  The performances from young opera singers were so impressive and I loved May Nicholson's introduction to each with an entertaining explanation of the opera and the context for the solo, as well as some random information about each performer.  And my uncle Brendan brought along licorice allsorts that seemed fitting.  It was my grandfather who kindled the lover of going to the Herald Sun Aria in my dad's family. 

 

 Wild Timor, Coburg

I continue to visit Wild Timor cafe (282 Sydney Rd) regularly with my friend Kerin.  Lately they have introduced some great juices.  The photo above is of my Beetroot, apple, lemon and ginger juice with a slice of gluten free cheesecake for sharing.  Another juice I enjoyed was an Apple, kale, celery, lemon, ginger juice .  I even saw a bottle of kombucha in the fridge on my last visit so I will check that out next time.

Halloween, O'Hea Street in Coburg

We had planned to go out to see houses on Halloween night but were too tired.  I did take a photo earlier of one of the local decorated houses when riding past earlier in the month.  I loved the grave in the yard that said" O'Hea Street Cemetery: Please don't wahe the residents. It would be a grave mistake.

Celebrity deaths in October: Jane Goodall, Dianne Keaton, Prunella Scales.  All three left an amazing lasting legacy.

In the News 

October was momentous in Australia with our nation's first treaty with the Indigenous people, which I am proud to say was in my home state of Victoria.  Such a relief to have good news in a time rife with disappointing governments and divisive Israel-Gaza politics.  The latter was in the news with the 2 year anniversary of 7 October, a "peace plan", release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and a ceasefire that does not stop.

Senator David Pocock thrown out of Parliament Sports Club after criticising gambling link, by Michelle Grattan, in the Conversation, 10 October 2025.

All living Israeli hostages freed and hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners released as Trump leads Egypt summit, The Guardian, 14 October 2025.

Yes … er, no: The Australian backflips after signing on to Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon reporting rules, in The Guardian, on 17 October 2025.

Why frogs, chickens and T rexes are taking over anti Trump protests, in The Age newspaper on 20 October 2025 (originally from the Washington Post). 

What we know about the Louvre jewellery heist, in ABC News, 20 October 2025.

The armistice of 1918 and the 'ceasefire' of 2025 by Douglas Newton in Pearls and Irritations, 21 October 2025. Insightful reflections on the ceasefire in Gaza.

‘The Rushmore story is hard to tell’: how an Indigenous park leader revealed the monument’s dark side, in The Guardian on 27 October 2025 (as Mt Rushmore memorial marks 100 years).

No Joy, only Division: It’s just the stupidest stupid we’ve yet seen, Amy Remeikis (on Australian opposition leader accusing prime minister of being antisemitic for wearing a Joy Division t-shirt), in The New Daily, 29 October 2025.

VACCHO condemns 'race-baiting' over Melbourne hospital's Indigenous care policy, in National Indigenous Times, 30 October 2025.

Selling the left’s message in the digital age is an art – Ireland’s new president mastered it, in The Guardian on 31 October 2025.

Australian-first treaty legislation passes in Victorian parliament, in ABC News, 31 October 2025.

Tiamo Italian restaurant - a Carlton icon

Tiamo has been a Carlton institution since it was established in 1978 joining the many Italian restaurants in Lygon Street   Over the decades that I have been hanging out in this area, Tiamo has been there with their dark wood paneling and outdoor tables.  Every time I pass I want to be one of the lively crowd enjoying their pasta and wine at the tables that take over a lot of the footpath.  It looks like one big happy family.  Over time I have grown to love it.

  

Inside the vibe is darker with wood panelled walls and Italian posters.  Often I have been in here when the crowded wooden tables and chairs are filled with people chatting over their meals.  Sometimes I have passed them by as I have walked up the stairs to the room that is allocated to groups, usually on work occasions.  On other times I have got there when there are no crowds or queues and it is quiet as closing time looms.

I confess that I didn't always love Tiamo.   For some time I considered it dark with too much meat on the menu.  I went there occasionally with work groups.  The platter above is from a work farewell in 2013.  My zucca (pumpkin) pizza and the nibbles off the platter were lovely.  We ate upstairs at Tiamo 2.  In 1996 the original Tiamo was expanded into Tiamo 1 and Tiamo 2.  The menus were similar but different and it was very confusing when booking.  These days it has reverted to one Tiamo.  I remember feeling a bit grumpy at this meal because a colleague had suggested a farewell present to me that I had told her I didn't like and she bought it anyway!

I then had another workplace where our boss loved taking us to Tiamo for lunch.  It was with him that I discovered a wonderful pasta and lentil soup.  It was thick and satisfying.  Those were good times with a friendly group of young scientists who told great stories and made me laugh.  I miss those times.  More recently I had a minestrone soup there and it was a disappointing thin soup of vegetables that was a light starter rather than a substantial meal. 

At yet another workplace, we had a dinner prior to an annual meeting of the centre.  That was a really interesting group of people including some who awed me because they were respected experts in public health.  It was a really lovely meal upstairs with a set menu.  I had bruschetta, ravioli and a glass of chocolate mousse.  The bruschetta was a revelation.  I have never had such a good one before and it was a great way to start the meal as people arrived, with a quite a few arriving straight from the airport.  The pasta was lovely and the mousse was really good, despite all that cream on top (not to my liking).

For some time one of that menu items I would order most was pizza.  The photo above is of an Ortolana pizza: pomodoro (tomato sauce), mozzarella, eggplant, roasted zucchini, peppers, boccocini and gratin.  It's a really lovely pizza but I felt like I should explore the menu more.

Then a couple of years ago I had a meal with my friend Heather after a movie where we had pasta and shared a generous pile of Schiacciata ($12): focaccia with olive oil, sea salt and rosemary.  It was excellent.  Not overly thick but such delicious warm bread with great seasoning.  I brought some home because there was so much.  Sylvia loved it.  She was determined to go to Tiamo for more as soon as possible.  The photo above is of a plate of flatbread I shared with Sylvia.

  

Over the next year we had a few really good visits, some just me and Sylvia and some with my parents as well.  Sylvia just loves the pasta.  Possibly her favourite is the Tortellini Tartufo ($33): ricotta filled tortellini, with wild mushrooms, truffle and cream, topped with spring onions and gratin.  Other photos above are of the Rigatoni alla Norma ($32.90 from the specials menu) with eggplant in napoli sauce, topped with baked salted ricotta, and the Gnocchi ($33) pan tossed in napoli sugo.  Tiamo pasta is not cheap but it is good stuff.  

When in Rome I discovered the joy of a good salad with pasta and bread.  I think my frugal days as a student had made a salad feel like a luxury.  Lately I order them more.  This meal in January 2025 where we shared salad bruschetta and ravioli was one of my favourites at Tiamo.  The food was fantastic and ambience was perfect eating outdoors on a balmy summers day with views through green leafy trees to the19th Century buildings of Lygon Street.  Above you can see the amazing Rocket Salad ($18.90): with pears, walnuts and shaved parmesan drizzled with a balsamic glaze.  It was so so good.

The Bruschetta has a generous pile of chopped tomato with red onion, herbs and a balsamic drizzle.  It was great with the salad.  I could not see it on the current online menu.  It has been a staple for quite a while and it would be sad if it was no longer.

One of the best parts of sharing salad, bruschetta and ravioli is that there is room for dessert.  I had the Baileys cheesecake ($14): a creamy ricotta cheesecake with a hint of Baileys Irish cream that is served with a berry coulis.   Sylvia had the Tiramisu ($14) served with drizzled chocolate sauce, cream and fresh berries.  We were both really happy with our desserts.  The cheesecake was not really boozy but had such great dense texture and was great with the coulis.

Since then I have had a couple of visits to Tiamo with Heather when we have seen films across the road at the Cinema Nova.  In the middle of this year we saw the Salt Path followed by an excellent Eggplant parmigiana with seasonal vegetables ($36.90).  It was not the slab of eggplant under a blanket of crisp and gooey cheese that I have had elsewhere but rather a few layers of eggplant with mozzarella cheese between the layers and lots of tomato sauce.  The eggplant was perfectly cooked but less of a dair  feast than usual.  It was an amazing meal with nicely cooked vegetables.

Last month was my last visit to Tiamo after Heather and I saw The Ballad of Wallis Island at the Nova.  I had the Canelloni de Ricotta ($34.90) off the specials menu.  The ricotta and spinach canneloni was served with bechemal and napoli sugo.  It was really lovely, but would have been better with side vegies or a salad but one dish was enough while grabbing a quick meal.
 

I am sure we will return to Tiamo over and over which can be relied upon to produces good food with friendly service.  They don't like split bills and some days the places looks packed to the rafters but I usually have found a seat and had a great time there.  

I have written on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog about more great Italian restaurants in inner city Melbourne: Bar Idda in East Brunswick, Brunetti in Carlton and Pepe's Italian & Liquor in the CBD.

Tiamo
303 Lygon Street, Carlton
https://tiamo.com.au/

In My Kitchen: October 2025

We are galloping towards the end of the year at some pace!  October was a busy month with a roller coaster of hot days turned to pouring rain, of getting life in order only to sink into a feeling of being totally overwhelmed, and of crazy busy days at work following a wonderful holiday in Daylesford.  It was the month for getting updated: a haircut, a car service and a bike service.  

Above is a picture of some rosemary and flowers I collected after pruning the garden last weekend when we had barely finished before the rain soaked the plants and the washing on the line in what turned out to be the wettest day in 18 months.  The weather was so wild that there was a hurricane in Werribee.  I heard a woman on the radio the following day describe the wind peeling the roof off her pergola like the lid of a sardine tin and lifting her husband a foot off the ground.

We brought a few souvenirs home from our 4 day Daylesford holiday.  These gorgeous spoons, with fancy metalwork on the handles, were found in a box of cutlery in an op shop.  They are in regular usage.  You can also seem some retro chunky beads that was one of Sylvia's jewellery purchases and the edges of a batch of Lemon slice made by Sylvia to take to Daylesford for snacking.

I bought this Spring Bouquet Japanese stoneware dinner plate at the Daylesford Mill Market.  It was overpriced at $28 but I had never seen a green version the commonplace brown floral stoneware dinner plates that are sold dirt cheap in op shops everywhere.  I love using it in the kitchen.  No no regrets!   

I also bought 3 of these gorgeous greeting cards at Daylesford Mill Market at a reasonable price (I think they were $3 each).  Sylvia bought the fairy card at the Daylesford Convent Gallery for a lot more.  I have been meaning to put the one of the hungry cat with ukelele above the cat food bowl.  (It reads: Let me play you a song: it's called there's no food in my bowl!)

When it comes to food our cat Shadow is very needy.  He is able to go and eat by himself, but if we are about he likes to scratch and glare and even reach his paw around my computer screen to let me know he needs someone to come with him to his food bowl in the bathroom and give him a pat before he will eat. 

He loves his dry food.  Sometimes I wonder if he used to be given cat food from a tin because he always is a bit excited whenever I open a tin.  But it is not just tins.  He is often interested in any food, especially cheese.  If I get out cheese for anything he just appears just magic.  He loves the stuff and if he could he would live on the stuff.  Recently my neighbour bought chicken necks for her cats who refused them.  So she tried them with Shadow but he would not touch them either.  I was a bit proud of him!  And relieved he did not suddenly demonstrate a love for chicken necks because I could not and would not serve them to him.
 

One more souvenir from Dayelsford is a light shade to go in Sylvia's room - from the Dayelsford Bazaar.  If there had been two I might have got one for my room too.  The domed shell has green leaves and trim in a lovely shade.  I have put it away carefully until I can get a light shade for my room and have an electrician convert the light fittings in the bedrooms.

In September I finally posted the recipe for these wonderful Easy brownies that are mixed in the tin.  On a whim, Sylvia made them again in October.  Midway through making them she discovered that we had no eggs.  She was already up to her armpits in mixture so I suggested she instead add a couple of chia eggs (where a chia egg is 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and 3 tablespoon of water).  It worked fantastically.  She was less impressed than me but I would do this again - perhaps a little flatter but still were easy, chewy and tasted amazing.

My favourite new recipe of the month was this Crispy rice salad that Sylvia found online.  Rice was cooked and mixed with oil, panko crumbs and seasoning before being crisped up in our airfryer (much quicker than the oven in the recipe).  This crispy rice was scattered over a salad of dinosaur kale, cucumber, avocado, edamame, spring onions and herbs with a dressing of kewpie mayo, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chilli, honey and sesame oil.  It was delicious and then being It was great because - twice rice and edamame - about 1/2 tsp chilli paste in dressing and rice basmati (did not have to cool too long - ok warm) 8-10min at 200c in liner in airfryer.  The fresh veg with the creamy dressing and crunchy rice was amazing.  This is one to repeat as the weather gets warmer.

 

Sylvia had fried rice from a food court at Highpoint shopping centre that she loved.  She told me I put too much soy sauce in fried rice and need to be more like that fried rice.  She found me a recipe - 'dad's' fried rice.  I was happy to try it but it had too much egg.  So I found a recipe for a vegan egg fried rice using a besan egg.  In addition, instead of frying the veg, I steamed it in my microwave steamer with vegies (peas, carrots, corn, edamame and later spring onion) on one layer and rice warmed up on another layer.  It was a good fried rice but I would make changes.  I needed to leave the besan mixture to firm up a bit more before stirring in the rice which became very clumpy.  As I finished cooking it occurred to me I had doubled up on the seasoning and in future if I used the two recipes together I needed to ease off on the seasoning.  This is a recipe I want to work on.  Stay tuned!

I made a barley stew one night.  I used what was about: onion, celery, carrot, potato, green peas, green lentils (that should have been soaked), edamame and of course barley with some simple seasonings of stock powder, dried herbs, vinegear and honey.  It worked really well and filled up our tummies!

When I heard on the radio that it was international mashed potato day on 18 October my mind went into flights of fantasy about having time to make lots of mashed potato dishes and writing a long blog post about my love of mashed potato and all the ways I loved to feature it in recipes.  In reality, it took me a few days to make one easy celtic mashed potato dish with the wonderful name of Rumbledethumps.  When I had previously made it I steamed the leek, cabbage and broccoli and it was really green.  This time I fried the leek and cabbage and steamed the broccoli and it was more beige.  Nevertheless it tasted lovely and felt like a healthier way to eat mashed potatoes.

Another recipe that appeared quite easy was a Miso, tomato and oregano pasta by Ottolenghi.  After congratulating myself during the week of using up a tub of cherry tomatoes, I found that they had been intended for this pasta.  So it all changed.  I added sundried tomatoes, green olives, butter beans, parsley and spring onion.  The miso, maple and garlic granule dressing was good but I needed more because we used more pasta.  Sylvia tells me we need to do it Ottolenghi's way next time! 

While at Preston Market, we found these mil tea Kit Kats.  I think we bought it based on the cute red tartan packaging, thinking you can't go wrong with Kit Kats.  It was ok but the white chocolate was a bit sweet for my liking.  If only they were as amazing as the packaging!

My manager had 6 weeks of leave.  It was great to have time to catch up on my to do list without having more added to it constantly.  But it was also good to have her back.  She bought us all a pair of chopsticks and a cute little cat chopstick rest from Japan.  It was very generous and so nice to see all the different pairs of chopsticks around the desks.

Sylvia's dad found her a tub of 2 minute mac and cheese topokki.  It is like a modern update on the 2 minute noodles of my youth.  Just add boiling water.  Sylvia found the sauce a bit sweet but loved the instant chewy rice sticks.  I liked the sauce and topokki and thought it a decent stab at Korean fusion fast food.

I liked the look of these Vegetarian "Hacao" dumplings at KFL supermarket.  (Wikipedia tells me that traditional Cantonese dumplings can be anglicised as har gow, ha gow, hau kau, or ha kao.)  The ingredient list was not as disturbingly long as some frozen dumplings. They were filled with seasoned Yam bean, Caro, Tro, Mung bean, Black fungus, Chinese mushrooms and "Bean cur sheet" (which I think is meant to say bean curd aka tofu).  I took a bad picture of the filling but was more impressed by my photo of them in the microwave steamer,  I'd love to have them again but Sylvia less certain.

Sylvia is a big fan of Frys vegan soy and linseed schnitzels but had not liked their vegan nuggets.  The new packaging for the nuggets got our attention more than the "new and improved" claim.  Sylvia at the nuggets in the packet with one going to me to taste but we were not enthused enough to buy them again.

I stopped at Terra Madre and bough some eco sponge cloths and eco scouring pads.  It seemed the right thing to do especially with the pretty patterns on the cloths.  In my ideal world I use them to replace my usual blue kitchen sponges with a scouring pad attached. Yet they are so pretty I have been reluctant to use them.  It is the dilemma with kitchen and cleaning clothes that it is so nice to have them looking pristine but we really want them to use them as intended they get very manky.  I am working on it!

I am a fan of Remedy kombucha which is readily available in my supermarkets and cafe.  Even so, I have noticed that there is less kombucha available in cafes lately, as though the enthusiasm for kombucha is waning.  There are now many more low-cal  adult sodas on the market that aren't tooth achingly sweet.  I remain faithful to kombucha and wish every cafe offered it.  It is interesting to see some newly packaged Small Batch kombuchas being produced by Remedy.  Is this to get attention in a crowded market.  I was not a huge fan of the Lychee and Strawberry (unlike Sylvia) but loved the Yuzu and Madarin.  They are photographed with a couple of Sukin products.  It is a skincare range I like using with aromatic essential oils.

We had a pleasant visit to the Abbotsford convent with a walk around the farmers market and lunch at Cam's Kiosk.  It was great to see the Mama Made Ferments there who have taken over Gorgeous George's kombucha recipes.  Of course we bought a bottle: apple and strawberry.  (According to their website they have now ceased trading - sigh!)  

 

There was some excellent baking too especially from .HazelBark Patisserie where we bought it all except the loaf of bread.  I ate my vegemite and cheese pretzel at the market but we bought home a brioche doughnut with French custard for Sylvia, a miso chocolate chip cookie and a lovely loaf of sourdough pumpkin bread with lovely soft orange chunks of pumpkin.  That cookie was so so good.  It was satisfyingly dense with lots of chocolate chunks and a lovely chewy blob of miso caramel in the middle, 

 

We are a sucker for a new version of an old product.  Peters drumsticks have brought out a Banana Caramel drumstick.  It was nice with a decent banana flavour.  I prefer more chocolate in mine but Sylvia was a big fan.  Kudos for the cute packaging and linking the flavour to the Big Banana, an Australian road trip icon.

October ended with Halloween and not much energy.  We had plans to look at some houses but in the end were defeated by tiredness and wet weather.  Earlier in the day I stopped at Back Alley Bakes for some Halloween baking.  I had orders to buy a pumpkin scroll but found they were only available on weekends.  So instead I bought her a skeleton gingerbread and a lime and olive filled ghost biscuit.  

I also bought the Spooky Special scroll with swirls of black sesame fnagipani, a yuzu custard filling and a meringe flourish on top, and a loaf of seeded sourdough.  As so often happens at Back Alley Bakes she did not like my choices but at least the skeleton was a hit!  I loved the dark and delicious swirls in the scroll. I could have done with less custard but it had a lovely citrus flavour.  And as always the bread is lovely for some easy weekend meals.

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 continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.