Best food and gardening books of the month, with Chris Gordon
The Mediterranean Cook by Meni Valle
Meni Valle is a teacher and a culinary tour guide in the Mediterranean. This is excellent news because it means her recipes are easy to follow, considered for a range of skill sets, and include a historical background to each dish. This is her sixth cookbook, and it captures the Mediterranean approach of dishes that spread from the early afternoon through to the evening. Imagine filo pastries, stuffed vegetables, grilled meats, and delicious fruit-based deserts. All that goodness is here for the taking.
Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull
Natalie Paull may have closed the doors to her gorgeous café, but she still understands your needs. Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice is perfect in every single way a good cookbook can be. Inside this delicious collection you will find her secrets and a collection of recipes that include slices, biscuits, cakes, and pies alongside wise information on toffee, custard, and creams. Life – sorted!
Baker Bleu: Bake It till You Make It by Mike Russell
Melbournians hold opinions on sourdough. It used to be on which side of the river you live, but now, quite frankly, the town is divided on where one sources one’s bread. Mike Russell and his partner were already sourcing dough, so they threw in their corporate lives and opened a bakery in Melbourne’s east. In this cookbook, he explains how to make bread, why to make it, and what to do with the leftovers. Now you can be that smug person who makes their own and brings it as an offering.
Tasmanian Gardens by Meg Bignell & Alice Bennett
Tasmania has been having a moment, for years now really. Just over that wild ocean is a place filled with imagination, fortitude, and history. The 20 private gardens in this book illustrate gumption and attitude. They demonstrate how wild places can be managed, lawns can be decorated, food can be foraged, and flowers can be picked. All prove that beauty can be encouraged with the right amount of imagination and skill. Use this book as a seed bomb for your own garden dreams.
Beachside Modern by Lauren Li
As I made my way through this glorious collection of homes by the water, I noted that each, somewhere, has a shower outside –whether here in Australia or in the Mediterranean. Water brings a type of attitude to a house – sandy feet and a sense of living on the edge of vastness. The houses celebrated in Beachside Modern offer simple tools for inspirational living in a beachside abode. Keep it simple. Allow space. Comfort. Live with shared areas. Allow the outside to speak to the home. Dream of another way of life as you sit on the 86 tram at 6pm on a Thursday evening.
