Making Madeleines

In two weeks' time I'm graduating and for my graduation party I've promised to make Madeleines. These are the cakes from Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time, which mentally transport him back to his childhood. Because I've written about them in my thesis, I thought it would be a good idea to make some. At one stage I decided to be lazy and try and buy them. But, unbelievably, no one in Sydney sells Madeleines. So, I bought the tins and had a trial run the other day. The recipe I used is from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat:

Here is the mixture in the tins ready to go in the oven:

The finished product. The beautiful shell shapes look so elegant, and tasted good too:

Here is the recipe:

Proust's Madeleine's from 'How to Eat'by Nigella Lawson

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon clear honey
2 eggs
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
3/4 cup Italian 00 or all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar for serving
Mix 6 tablespoons of the butter with the honey. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl for about 5 minutes with a mixer until it's as thick as mayonnaise. Sprinkle in the flour; I hold a strainer above the egg and sugar mixture, put the flour in it, and shake. Fold in the flour with a wooden spoon and then add the melted butter and the honey. Mix well, but not too vigorously. Leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour, then take out and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the remaining butter over the cavities in the madeleine molds and fill them with the cake mixture. Don't worry about filling the cavities; in the heat of the oven, the mixture will spread before it rises.

Bake 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden on top and golden brown around the edges. Mine seem cooked after about 7 minutes, but not all ovens are the same, so be alert from 5 minutes. Turn out and let cool on a rack, then arrange on a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Now to make one hundred of them for my party - shouldn't be too difficult.

201st Post

I had plans for marking my 200th post, but somehow it passed by without me realising. Yesterday I happened to see a copy of the 2010 Australian Country Style Calendar in a newsagent with the boatshed on the December page (my apologies to those who are waiting for me to post the story from the magazine from December 2009 - technology such as scanning is somewhat problematic down here). Seeing the calendar made me reflect on the passing of time:


Over the past year some things have changed here. A beautiful baby has grown from this:


To this:


But it still remains a place for family, friends, nature and beauty:


Thanks very much to my fellow bloggers who found me again after my year-long break from blogging. And to everyone who visits my blog, thanks for your encouragement and generosity.

Our Visit to Rick Stein at Mollymook

Here is the promised post on our visit to Rick Stein's restaurant. The amazing view of the Pacific Ocean from our balcony:

This is our comfortable and well-appointed room:

Here is the reception area of the restaurant. But we weren't there for the decor:

For starters we ordered the Warm Shellfish with Parsley, Chili, Olive Oil, Garlic and Lemon Juice. Simple but gorgeous:

Here is the fish and shellfish soup with Rouille and Parmesan. The idea is to take the croutons on the plate'in the foreground, spread them with the rouille and parmesan, and float them in the soup. It was sensational:

The main courses were: Escalopes of Tasmanian Salmon with a Sorrel Sauce, and Fillet of Blue Eye Trevalla, Slivers of Potato, Mushrooms and Truffle Oil. The combination of fresh local seafood and simple ingredients cooked in the French style was amazing :

The next morning we had a continental breakfast of cereal, fruit, bread and pastries. Of course the delicious banana bread and croissants were made on the premises:

Overall, we had a lovely experience with the best food I've had in Australia. I enjoyed the food more than I have in the top restaurants in Sydney.

Mollymook via Cornwall

I'm so excited! Tonight we're going to dinner at Rick Stein's restaurant. No, not in Padstow, Cornwall, but a newly-opened one in Mollymook, on the south coast of NSW, at Bannisters Point resort. Here is the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, or 'Padstein' as it's come to be called:


What a beautiful part of the world:


Although Mollymook doesn't look too bad either:




I'll let you know how it goes.

Images courtesy of the restaurants' websites.

Spring cleaning

With summer just around the corner, we've been sprucing things up. There's not much to do on the boatshed, so we've shifted our focus to a nearby house. For the past four years this lounge on the veranda has had its original 60s olive and orange cushions covered by makeshift white covers. It was time for a makeover, so I got my friendly upholsterer to recover the cushions in an oatmeal fabric:

The sandy tone gives it a subtle beachy feel and goes well with white:

We replanted the garden at the front of the veranda with some traditional plants like azaleas which I think are nonetheless compatible with the natives and the Aussie icon, the water tank:

Here is the bigger picture:

I can't wait till they grow and the flowers come out:

Thanks to our gardener friend Tass for selecting just the right plants for the space

Office Chic

I'm very interested in old office furniture, but it's something you never really find in op shops, and the trendy retro stores charge a fortune. I found this in a local second-hand store recently. The slots fit A4 folders perfectly and I can't wait to use this in my office (when it's built of course). I'll feel like I'm working in an old-fashioned post office:

Being a bibliophile and sometime librarian, I've always wanted some filing drawers. I found this little set of two and I love that one of the drawers has an old label on it:

I have no idea what a 'Stud Prefix' is, but it sounds pretty cool so I'm leaving the label attached:

Now to find a reasonably-priced library ladder and apothecary cabinet. Somehow I don't think that will be as easy.

Canister Collection

I couldn't resist the beautiful buttercup yellow and dove grey combination of these canisters I found at the op shop last week. The main reason they caught my eye is that they perfectly complement the 40s laminex on the benchtop:

It's like having my own little baboushka dolls fitting snugly inside each other. I even love the fact that 'Rice' is missing, as are the 'r' and the loop of the 'g' in sugar. These are signs that they've been well-loved and used by their previous owner:

They say that if you've got three or more of something you have a collection. I've got four sets of canisters now. The ones on the left are in the most beautiful colours - aubergine, rust, olive and eau-de-nil. The ones on the right are in classic 70s ochre and orange:

This white sugar canister has three others inside it. The lettering is fading, which is part of the attraction:

All I need now are some more shelves for my growing 'collection'.

Sibella Court

Yesterday I went to the launch of Sibella Court's interiors book etcetera etc. at her shop The Society Inc in Paddington, Sydney. If you haven't heard of her you can read an interview with her here. The book is gorgeous with literally a handmade feel, and I got a cool cloth bag and bookmark with it.

The aspects I admire most about her style are her attention to detail and the way she uses things which could be described as 'ordinary', like string, stamps, feathers or paper to make beautiful still life arrangements. The objects in her shop and styling shoots have a pre-loved feel and the patina of age. Her style reminds me a lot of Ann Shore, whose London shop Story I attempted to visit in London last year. She writes very eloquently on her aesthetic and where it comes from. I'd just like to share an excerpt from her book:

'[T]he patina of age gives so many things - fabric, furniture and paper, tableware and ceramics, wood and metal - unique textural and colour markings. Look at the way a silver tea set tarnishes or the linen on a hardback book fades in the sun. Feel the crumbling paint on a second-hand chair or the smooth handle on an old hammer. These imperfections are hard to mass-produce and the marks of age tell a story of a life lived'.

The book itself is an objet d'art, like her shop and her magazine shoots. To me Sibella epitomises an aesthetic which is not a 'cookie-cutter' style nor can it be found fully-formed in design magazines, but is original, heartfelt and the result of much thought. I also see it as ethical as it respects other cultures, traditions and creatures, valuing what would often otherwise be overlooked.

Images of Sibella's book are courtesy of The Design Files post.

Lucky Find

I've been so busy working lately that I haven't been to an Op Shop for about three months. Prior to that I'd had a couple of months without finding anything and was a bit disheartened. So imagine my delight when I called in earlier this week and found this cute little table for the princely sum of $15:

When I arrived home I was asked where I was planning to put it (I seem to have a plethora of similar tables already) and I replied that that was not the point. I've learnt that a found object always finds a home if you love it.

More Rough Stuff

I'm sorry but I can't keep away from this topic. I stumbled across this site and found this amazing eye candy, such as Cy Twombly's apartment ( it explains his paintings so well):


Axel Vervoordt (I love this guy):

And Francois Halard always makes me happy:

Hopefully these images explain why I have not been able to buy an Australian design magazine all year because of what I term largely manufactured, characterless dwellings which require money but little imagination and have no sense of history. There, I've said it.

Images courtesy of this site.

Boatshed Alert

I just went to the newsagent and found a copy of the 2010 Country Style Diary:


And you'll never guess what was in the December section: Our boatshed, from a story that came out in the December 2008 issue of Australian Country Style, back when I was in the midst of my year-long blogging hiatus:


Very 'Christmassy' and yet somehow 'Australian' at the same time:



When I'm not so snowed under with work, I'll post some images from the magazine story itself.

Images courtesy of Australian Country Style

Tres Chic

Recently, I found myself curious about the new Rachel Ashwell book, 'Shabby Chic Interiors: My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets'. Curious to the point of buying a copy! This bedroom draws me back time and time again when I need to contemplate a 'quiet place':


I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but the paleness and those creased curtains speak to me:


I like the robust rusticity of this unit:


And even though I can't afford one, chandeliers capture my attention every time:


I love this green:


This dining room is not too shabby:


And I wouldn't say no to this bathroom:


I can't explain the pull that these pale washed-out linens and chipped painted surfaces have for me except to say that about ten years ago when I was going through a rough patch, I used to go to a bookshop and surreptitiously peruse a copy of the original 'Shabby Chic'. Before I could afford to buy it, when I needed to go to a happy place I'd hide in the corner and drink in the images and immediately feel better. Fortunately, my life took a turn for the better but the images I used to return to time and time again to have been etched into my memory.

Images courtey of "Shabby Chic Interiors: My Rooms, Treasures and Trinkets' by Rachel Ashwell