34 GOURMET TRAVELLERILLUSTRATION DAWN TAN.Produce
W
hileI oftendreamof
holidaysspentsipping
ice-coldcocktailsand
frolickinginthesea,
thesummergarden’srelentlessirrigation
andharvestschedulesusuallyhaveother
ideas.Thankfully,thewintergardenis
moreforgiving.
Frosts,whiletemperingtheurge
tojumpintotheocean,keepvegetables
patientlywaitingintheground,andchill
pestsintodormancysothatwemarket
gardenerscanrunawayona seaside
holiday,evenif it is morewindswept
Poldarkthanbalmycocktailweather.
Wescourtheinternetfora place
tostay.Anoceanviewis vital,asis
a woodfire,a politedistancefrom
anyneighbours,andthesoundofthe
oceantoputustosleep– wemountain
folklovethelashingwavesofwinter
tempeststomakeusfeellikewe’renot
inKansasanymore.
Buttheclincheris thekitchen.
We’ve all packed for holidays onlyto arriveandfindvinylchoppingboards
thatsmelllikeyourhighschoolhome
economicsroom,fryingpanswith
peelingnon-stickcoating,threeplastic
pasta scoops,andnota corkscrew
insight.Thistimewe’vestruckgold
andfounda placeinlarapuna, or the
Bay ofFires,stockedwith
sharpknives,French
cast-ironcookware,
anda wonderful
coffeemachine.
We startearly,
planningmealsand
visitingallofourfriends
tosourcethefinestvittles
ourlittleislandcanoffer.
Pancakesarea holiday
staple,andourfriendsTheGrainFamily
growflavourful,organicgrains– once
you’vetasteda pancakemadefrom
fresh-milledspelt,nothingelsewilldo.
Ourchickensslowtheirproductionas the
nightscoolandlengthen,sowehoard
the eggs we’ll need early in preparation.Ona gentlewinter
day, theseacan
beparticularly
alluring,andwill
seeus stripping
offandplunging
into the icy waves.Wetakea crateofjarstoourlocal
dry-goodsshop,wherewewritetheweight
ofeachjaronthelid,thenfillthem
withwhateverwedesire.Thekidshave
a jareach,whichtheycramfulloftheir
favouritetreats– caramelchocolatefor
one,driedorganicpineapplefortheother,
anda massivejaroflicoricefortheirdad.
Intheshop’sfreezerI findlambribsfrom
CliftonFarm,thetastiestI’veevereaten,
raisedbyourfriendsonthebanksofthe
HuonRiver.Otherfriendssellapplesin
thesamestoreandwegrabplenty,some
foreatingfresh,othersforcrumble.
Andwhat’sa holidaywithoutcheese?
Atthefarmer’smarketwebuychunks
ofhard,crumblymeadowcheeseand
slabsofhaloumifromElgaarFarm,
alongwithbottlesoftherichestcream
toanointtheapplecrumble.
We raidthepantry,too.Herbswe
driedinsummer– lemonverbenaand
Mexicantarragon– comealongtomake
warmingteas,andFowler’sjarsofapricots
andtomatoesaretuckedinamongthetea
towels(whydoholidayrentalsnevercome
withenoughteatowels?)topreventthem
fromrattlingtheentiretripaway.
Lastlywevisitthegarden.When
I travelI missit terribly,andfindmyself
returninghometogorgeonfistfulsof
greens.Butwintervegetablesarethemost
amenabletravellingcompanions:a head
ofcabbageorescaroleremainsfreshfor
days,radisheswiththeirtopschopped
offstaybeautifullycrisp.Andif they
don’twe’llthrowthemintoa hotpan
with butter andsalt– witha fewchunks
ofmackerelif thefishing
hasprovedfruitful.And
parsley.If I hadtochoose
oneplanttotravelwith
I thinkparsley’sabilityto
behaveasbothherband
vegetable,andmakeme
feelnourished,wouldsee
it inmyEskyeverytime.
Fromexperience
we’velearntnottoforget
ourbottleopener.Sometimes,ona gentle
winterday,theTasmanSealappingon
whitesandcanbeparticularlyalluringto
madfarmersandwillseeusstrippingoff
andplunging,shrieking,intotheicywaves.
A glassofredbythefireis essentialafter
such jaunts, and we will be prepared.●Gatheringessentialsfora winterholidayispartplanning,
all pleasure, writesPAULETTE WHITNEY.
Great escape