member blog: jamjar
jamjar
From
Melbourne, Australia
Member since
14th Oct 2007
About
Michelle (jam) is a kiwi living the urban dream in Melbourne, Australia. She works for the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) as the Communications Officer. Yes, yes: she does talk a lot.
She didn't like food for a very long time, but rediscovered a joy of putting simple, fresh tastes into her mouth thanks to Jamie Oliver's accessible recipes, beautiful food-photography, and awesome Tefal wok/frying pan!
She is crazy-go-nuts about blogging - and can also be found at thejamjar.com
jamjar's blog posts
Urban Farmer
Sat 03 Nov 2007GENERAL BLOG
I'm not, nor have I ever been, a gardener. I do, however, love fresh tomatoes. So - somewhere in between not being a gardener but needing the fresh explosion of tomato'y goodness in my mouth, a plan is evolving.
I live in an apartment. It has great natural light, gets plenty warm and I have a tolerant roommate. I convinced her it would be wonderful to set up various potted tomato plants and see what happens. The idea of getting home from work and picking the sun warmed globes of redness from their vines and making that mothership tomato salad is extremely pleasing.
So, I need to: source tomato plants, containers, soil, fertiliser and stakes. I'm new to Melbourne (relatively) so I will begin by finding a garden or nursery that sells all those things and see about getting up to the 6th floor where I live.
Wish me luck! I shall keep you posted.
Meme: Page 123
Sun 28 Oct 2007GENERAL BLOG
I live in Melbourne, Australia. Yay! I love this town! It's renown for it's "cafe culture", and rightly so. Yesterday, while I was out in the world, I had a late lunch at a cafe/bar on Little Lonsdale Street called Rue Babelons. They have the *most* fabulous, albeit, extremely simple: baguettes. Super-fresh ingredients, not fussy, and just plain awesome in your mouth. They offer a couple of options, including vegetarian - but I go for the pastrami every time.
A beer and a baquette: perfect quick cafe lunch.
Meanwhile, back in my digital life, I saw this cute little meme that is doing the rounds of the internet at the moment, and it had me reach for my new book: Jamie at Home. The meme is pretty simple: grab the closest book, turn to page 123, go to the 5th sentence then blog the next three.
My result turns out to be a great Jamie Tip:
"The classic combination is garlic, lemon zest and flat-leaf parsley, all chopped together really finely. It can be sprinkled over stews, broths, soups or pasta dishes at the last minute. It really brings a dish to life."
from page 123, Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver
Spring Fresh
Sun 14 Oct 2007GENERAL BLOG
I watched Jamie at Home for the first time on Friday night - I'm not sure how long the series has been on here in Australia, but I am definitely new to the series.
What a gorgeous show!
Not only is it beautifully filmed, edited and designed (the artworks is delicious) but it is infused with Jamie's passion - which he's always had, of course - but it seems reinvigorated and reclaimed.
I was worried that the whole thankless uphill mighty battle of School Lunches had worn Jamie out - I'm sure that at times it did his soul no good at all - but I was so very pleased to see his zest, his skills and his personable generosity back on my television screen doing what he does best - getting *me* all excited about food!
So here I am - poking around this wonderful site which has grown in leaps and bounds since I was here last; apart from the food and the man himself, this site is an excellent example of an online community who are not only supported by the Jamie Oliver "family" (and all that means) but who can support Jamie Oliver and his staff.
Jamie infuses everything he does with a personable, straight-forward openness that I genuinely admire.
And besides all that, on Friday night he reminded me I can grow my own tomatoes in my apartment! I am aiming for the Salad Mothership this summer and will be reading the forums for advice from others who grow in indoor/urban situations and reaping rewards accordingly.