Creative Consumption

Posted on February 8, 2015 by cityhippyfarmgirl

This weekend was a long time coming, and boy was it worth the wait. Those two days were an absolute cracker. You know what the excellent thing about social media is? Connecting with amazing people in an online environment all over the place kind of way. You know what the next best thing after that is? Meeting them in real life and hanging out doing things you are all interested in. Also throwing a delicious sprinkling of creativity into the mix to keep you going for quite awhile. Yep weekends like that? They rock. The weekend originally came about over thinking of the multitude of wonderful creative courses that are available around the place, without the exceptional price tag. Everyone has something to offer and things for others to learn from. In a collaborative type environment, ideas, options, thoughts, creativity can be expanded on. All those things jumped on and most beautifully run with. (At the very least, encouragement from some like minded souls, and a little recharging of the batteries.)

Mitchell Rd Antiques || cityhippyfarmgirl

How it all came together… A group of instagram and online buddies coming together in Sydney. Accommodation was through AirBnB, which served as a bed for our interstate friend and a place for us to gather during the day. Cameras? Yes, they were essential. Awesome food brought in for the first day, and awesome food sought for the second day. Win win there.

Creative challenges, sharing of knowledge, a wonderful goodie bag to be taken home each, and more laughs squashed into a two day period than I’ve had for a long time. So. Damn. Good.

For anyone else who has looked longingly at a seemingly unachievable course that they would love to do due to finances, where they live or just general unsureness.

Jump in, create your own course. Find some like minded people and bring it all together. Collaboration is a wonderful thing, create what you want rather than staring wistfully in from the side lines.

Like I said, this weekend was a long time coming, and there were rather a lot of speed humps along the way. But it was worth every bump, and there are already plans for another.

Wonderful places we went, and awesome things we utilised

AirBnB

Eveleigh Markets

Dumbo Feather

The Grounds, Alexandria

Salt Meats Cheese, Alexandria

Kitchen by Mike, Rosebery

Koskela, Rosebery

Mitchell Rd Antiques, Alexandria

Clovelly Beach

Three Blue Ducks, Bronte

Suzie Q, Surry Hills

Chocolate, Community and Choices

Posted on August 10, 2014 by cityhippyfarmgirl

I’ll let you in on a little secret. This place here, is my number one place to eat out. It doesn’t happen often, actually hardly at all really, but when it does…oh it’s bliss. Sheer bliss.

While this blog is not about food reviewing (and never will be) I can’t help but want to stand on my pedestal and shout…”you really should go there!”

Once in that blue moon period when I do go out, I want to go somewhere that holds similar beliefs to me. Going somewhere where the selling points of a dish are “Salmon from Alaska, oranges from Malta, cheese from Turkey and wine to wash it all down with from Italy”. Nope, it just doesn’t cut it for me, I’m seriously not interested. Tell me the bacon is from a small scale farmer a few hours away, the milk is from the outskirts of Sydney, the eggs are organic and the plated greens were grown three metres away in the small backyard. Now that’s going to make me sit up and pay attention.

Also add to it being some of the best tasting food I’ve ever tasted and I will be scrambling for any opportunity to get a table again.

Now when time ticks by and life gets in the way, their cookbook will be tiding me over. The pages talk of how they started, seasonal eating, not wasting anything and community– all topics of which I’ll happily devour every page, (which is includes this rather tasty Chocolate Beetroot Brownie.)

beetroot brownie || cityhippyfarmgirl

Coming back for a moment, to that wonderful C word that I love so much- community. It’s important to me here in blogland. It’s important to me in ‘real life’ and is also one of the big things that has struck me every time I’ve been lucky enough to eat there. (And it really is a privilege to eat out , for anyone!) Community is something that really seems to jump out at you, even just walking down the street. You can tell that this is a close knit area that really looks out for each other, (which also includes famed sourdough legend, Iggy’s just a few doors down.)

Living in a big city, if you are lucky enough to be in the position of choosing to go out for a meal, then considering where your dollar is going just makes sense. It makes wonderful sense. Combine a little chocolate and community in with those choices and you have yourself a pretty great combination I think.

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Tell me, what are some of your favourite community minded places (or books) to eat or hang out at?

Passata Day

Posted on January 28, 2014 by cityhippyfarmgirl

When I found out Milkwood was holding a Passata Day, there was a squeal of delight, and more than a little happy hand clapping. I had long held dreams of being part of a European village tomato festival, had looked longingly looked over at Rohan’s Passata Day from last year and would have happily invited myself over to any large family that held annual passata days in their backyard (if only I knew of any.)

So when Passata Day was announced I was just a little bit happy. A promise of lunch by Three Blue Ducks, mocktails by Trolleyd, music by Sophie Loizou and all tomatoey goodness by Common2us and Old Mill Road– to be held in the back garden of an inner city community centre?

Oh yes I was going to be there, and it promised to be a good one!

Amazing mocktails from Trolleyd created from native and organic ingredients, all foraged or sourced locally. If you didn’t think bartending and sustainability went hand in hand, think again.

Tomatoes. Real tomatoes. The kind that taste like summer and come in every funny shape and form. The red goodness came from two market garden farms- Common2us an organic community farm based in Dural and Old Mill Road BioFarm, a family run farm in Moruya.

Some of my favourite conversation topics happened here. Chats on sourdough, permaculture, homebirth, cooking, photography, community and fermentation. The Passata Goddess must have been smiling above me, when she placed two of Sydney’s fermentation experts in front of me- questions answered and encouragement built on. These were a few of their beautiful fermented goodies to be tasted on the day.

Simple beautiful food, eaten at a long table….nothing better. Nothing.

The amazing and inspiring Kirsten and Nick, the couple behind Milkwood Permaculture.

…and the wonderful finished product.

Bidding goodbye to old and new friends, with the passata bottles safely tucked away. I slowly peddled home and reflected on why today had made me so happy.

* I had got to be a part of a community event that I had always wanted to.

* I had been able to talk with people that held so many similar interests and beliefs.

* I was able to introduce two of my friends to an event that they would have otherwise not known about, (which they loved.)

* I had met a bundle of people that I knew in the virtual social media world, and had been able to (at times nervously) introduce myself.

And ultimately. Celebrated the fact that so many of my interests and ideals could come together in the one day. To organise an event such as this would taken a huge amount of time, but it was done beautifully and I can only hope there is another one for next year. This is a perfect example of what simple living can be. A community event where food and people come together. Where skills are shared, knowledge is passed on and friendships formed and added to.

Passata Day you rocked.

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For more Passata Day goodness see here.

loving

Posted on July 28, 2013 by cityhippyfarmgirl

“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE

Revisiting old biscuit favourites, custard biscuits. Loving the simplicity of no fuss baking.

Winter afternoon light, loving the warmth and deliciousness of it.

Loving having little people still small enough to go out confidently wearing pyjama bottom boxer shorts over the top of everyday clothing and the other wearing a cardboard bag as a soldiers helmet on his head. I know these days are numbered and I’m holding onto them with a stifled chuckle and a big heart.

Loving cold beach frolicks.

Lunch date with Mr Chocolate at Three Blue Ducks*. Alone time without little people, we even had two coffees…loving every minute of that.

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What are some of those moments that have tickled your heart lately?

*Check out their small permaculture garden out the back.

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Have a peek at some of the things that have tickled Kari’s heart recently.

cityhippyfarmgirl

simple connected living, city style

Tag Archives: three blue ducks

Chocolate, Community and Choices

Passata Day

loving