MoMa

Two weeks down and the market at MONA has been amazing.  There have been so many people coming to enjoy the market, the music and produce available.  The beanbags on the grass have been a huge hit with families and young hipsters alike, settling into an afternoon of music and good food, whilst leaving their shopping in the free fridge cloak room.  I've eaten Asian omelettes full of crunchy vegetables, ice cream that makes you moan it's so good, incredible cheeses, crusty bread, cold pear cider and I think my children have eaten their body weight in Gillian's chocolates.   Establishing a market is not without its teething problems, and we've still loads of work to do until the market finishes for the year at Easter to maintain the momentum.   There are lots of more exciting things to look forward to over the coming weeks, new stallholders, new art installations and lots more delicious things to eat. I'm having a couple of weeks off selling jam, and will get back into it once school holidays are finished.  In the meantime, Saturday was a good excuse to be a shopper, listen to Guy and Eliza's entertaining talk and take lots of pics.  It's incredible to be working at Mona, and to be part of such an inspiring beast, we are very lucky to have it here in Tasmania.

A great day

One of those perfect days yesterday. A very hot one and nothing for it but to head to the river with good friends.  Although quite a mission to get through the paddocks and down to the rocky banks in the hot sun, I never get tired of seeing my kids running through paddocks, and took too many pictures of them ambling through the long grass. We spent the morning swimming in the cool dark waters, building towns on the river bank with rocks and making boats with bark and twigs.  Hugo crushed rocks and made face paint and we saw a trout swimming in the waters but lucky for him we had no rods.  In the evening we returned for a riverside picnic dinner and as we watched the anglers come out to try and catch that trout, who proved too elusive, we ate strawberries and drank champagne.  Then the wind whipped up, the temperature dropped and we headed home. Cool, tired and happy. 

In my spare time...

I'm starting to question the wisdom of my decision to launch my jam empire at the MoMa this weekend.   Sitting at the table surrounded by stacks of precariously balanced jars of jam, piles of sticky labels and boxes of perfectly ripe fruit, I can't help think I've bitten off the proverbial more than I can chew.   The children have been whisked off to their Nonna's and I have a clean run in the kitchen to churn out as much jam as I can to sell at the first market this Saturday.  That's in err, two days.

I've been thinking about making jam for a long time.  Around here in the Huon Valley it's hard not to. There is such an abundance of beautiful fruit in our valley, that to me, it seems silly not to preserve it in a jar and capture those sweet sunny fruits, to enjoy later in the year.

I want to make jam that is all about the fruit and celebrates the people and places it comes from. If I haven't grown the fruit myself, or picked it myself, I know who did.  Each flavour will be made in small batches, and in limited editions.

So yes, in the super-charged exciting times of Mona Foma, MoMa and the Minnie Mouse Gangster Feathered Serpent Diamond Grill Tent, during the school holidays, in the last minute rush of coordinating workshops, chasing up speakers and a media call (eep!), in my spare time I am launching my jam empire. Apple Town Jams.   You can call me Lady Jar Jar.

Here we go...

Until yesterday, if it wasn't for the car filled with cherry pips and the towels from the morning's swimming lessons fluttering on the clothes line, (along with Elsa) you'd never know it was summer.  It's been so cool and mild.

But yesterday and today have been hot.  Really hot.  So we're lounging around, not heading out until dusk and trying to keep cool.  Frozen strawberry smoothies for the kiddos, black ice coffee for me.  The lawn is dry, the garden neglected and the chooks breeding like crazy.  We have 18 chooks now!

I haven't had much time for this space, but I have been writing posts in my head.  I just need to figure out how to download them to blogger.  Most of my spare (ahem) time has been working on the new MONA Market, known as MoMa.  It starts this Saturday and will run every week until Easter.  Brimming with fresh produce, flowers, honey, banana splits and samosas plus a little bit of handmade craft, it's a market Jim, but not as we know it.

What an amazing project it has been to work on.  I feel giddy with excitement.  And a little bit nervous.

Seven on the seventh

A slow and easy start to our January, here's seven favourite photos from our first week of the year.

Checking our bees :: Hugo's work :: a bumper blackcurrant crop from the garden this year :: new Salt Waters for my girl ::  making The Black Apple paper dolls ::  playing her new Christmas violin:: lovely new jars to be filled with Nigel Slater's fabulous blackcurrant jam.

How was your first week of 2012?

Friends, old and new

Some of the happiest times on our recent trip was spent catching up with friends, not only dear long time ones, but meeting online friends in real life.  

First stop was Mt Gnomon Farm to pick up our delicious Christmas ham from Guy and Eliza.  Guy gave us a tour of their stunning farm.  Guy and I had spent a lot of time on the phone chatting about various things porcine during the year, and I was pleased to not only meet him, but see how happy his pigs and other farm animals look.  

After a night on the ferry the super lovely Ruth, from Gourmet Girlfriend, invited us over for breakfast and a bowl or two of her famous coffee.  You've got to admire a gal that roasts her own coffee beans. I loved Ruth before I met her and now I love her even more!  

On the way home we spent the night the at Daylesford.  Oh I love that town.  Beautiful to look at, filled with gorgeous buildings and lovely people.   We had a delicious dinner at Breakfast and Beer, before dropping in at Fox's Lane to meet the gorgeous Kate, Brendan, Jazzy and Pepper.  The grown ups talked and the kids played on the trapeze. We all wished we lived closer so we could drop in more often, such was the super nice time we had.

On the way home, Whole Larder Love's Ro invited us over to his gorgeous family home to share a most tasty lunch of nettle pesto, which was one of the culinary highlights of our trip. I had a tour of Ro's impressive vegetable garden and couldn't help but be inspired by his enthusiasm.  No wonder that Ro is going places, his joy of food and gardening is utterly contagious! 

When we arrived in Melbourne that night, we had stayed the night with old friends and enjoyed a Croatian feast,  which I haven't stopped dreaming about since, before catching the early morning ferry home. 

I didn't take many of pics of those moments.  But I'll always remember them.  It makes me feel so happy when I think about those times spent with dear friends, both old and new, how friendly, generous and wonderful they are in person, and that the gorgeous and inspiring personalities that shine through on their blogs is so very real and true.  

Climbing mountains

Mountain climbing.  Not something I ever really thought about before.   Not on the long wish list of goals I want to achieve, not in the actual physical sense anyway.  But that's exactly what we did on our recent trip to Thredbo, we, all four of us, climbed Mt Kosciuszko. A gorgeous 13 kilometre hike through the most exquisite alpine landscape.  Valleys filled with summer flowers, clusters of smooth boulders and crystal clear streams.  It was magical. 

We stayed at the village for four days, there was chair lift rides, bob sleds and a fabulous pool to soothe those aching muscles.   At night, cozied up at out ski lodge, we ate delicious food, played loads of scrabble and celebrated our achievements. 

I was so proud of our little ones walking the entire way to the top of the mountain, without any complaints or requests to be carried. No need to add mountain climbing to the list.  We've already done it. Yep, mountain climbers, that's me, that's us.

Happy New Year friends!