More sad girl novels & the ethics of urban foraging: February 2024

Plus a kitchen garden update & and a fantastic cocktail combination.

Dear reader,

Welcome to the second EVER bumper-edition of What’s Cooking with Celine.

I’m still experimenting with this format and have decided to keep one article behind the paywall, but make the other free for all eyes. Yay!

Keep reading to find out what’s on offer in this month’s edition.

Everyone has something to say about sad girl novels. Love them or hate them, it seems they are here to stay. And hey – not all of them are bad. Here I’ve listed a bunch, published over the last few years, that deserve all the hype and more.

Recently, I attended an Urban Foraging 101 workshop, hosted by local permaculture rockstar The Urban Nanna. Having been foraging for donkey’s years, ‘Nanna’ Anna had a lot of great tips to share and in turn, I’d love to share them with you.

A bonus edition of What’s Cooking was sent out in the last month, with open access for all. In case you missed it, here it is.

A kitchen garden update

If you’re new here (hello!) for some background - I’m a permaculture enthusiast with an interest in kitchen gardens and particularly Australian native and indigenous plants (I’m planning on doing a standalone post on this soon, which may provide some helpful context for international readers).

A big goal for the last few years has been to establish a kitchen garden… but it has to be portable. Conundrums ahoy.

I’ve promised monthly updates and I am, if anything, a woman of my word. So here goes.

Things in the garden have been… interesting to say the least.

In the lead up to the warmer months here in Australia, the main discourse was basically ‘Oh La Niña has moved on, no more rain, watch out everyone, it’s gonna be a HOT summer’.

Which does seem to have occurred elsewhere in Australia. Just not so much in Melbourne.

We’ve had rain, rain, rain, sun, sun sun. Combining this with a very busy first couple of months of the year, on a personal front. And as a result, things in the garden are a bit out of control.

And not in a good way. Any time I’ve had to spend gardening, is mostly wasted on weeding. I say wasted, because anything growing directly out of the garden comes with an infusion of lead; not at all ideal. So I feel like I spend my time pulling up what would be yummy and edible ‘weeds’, that have to go straight into the green bin.

And how’s the Australian edible garden going? Lol, well slowly.

My yam daisy, which I have thought I’d accidentally killed on more than one occasion, perseveres and even flowered recently! But then my native violets, which were thriving, got a bit too much sun and perished somewhat. I’m confident I can bring them back, but it’ll be a time thing.

River mint is still going off, as is my backyard lemon tree, which means I can make my favourite hot weather drink – pop some mint, about a tablespoon of lemon juice and teaspoon of honey into a cup, pour in hot water. Enjoy as is in winter, or chill and then drink in summer. Somehow manages to be both comforting and refreshing, no matter the weather.

Horchata craving temporarily satisfied at La Tortilleria in Kensington.

And lastly, life lately.

Have been greatly enjoying:

Balmy summer nights, perfect for late-night walks around the neighbourhood. The type where it feels almost tropical, and you can leave the house without a jacket or cardigan. Not always a guarantee during a Melbourne ‘summer’.

Similarly, the last few weeks of daylight savings in Oz, even if the sun doesn’t wake up until nearly 7am this far south.

Getting back into fantasy books. I haven’t yet cracked open Sarah J Maas’ newbie (the size intimidates me, I think I need to dedicate a whole weekend to it), and also have Fourth Wing and A Deadly Education borrowed out from the library. Anyone read and enjoyed these books? Tell me more, plz.

Lots and lots of yin yoga, stretching out the mind and bod.

Tomatoes! Whether homegrown (my cherry toms have been going OFF), or the star of a salad, can’t bloody get enough of them.

A recent solo jaunt to the cinema, a reminder of how much fun it is to just go out by yourself sometimes. I watched All of Us Strangers and my one comment is… bring tissues.

I am so glad this exists.

Cocktails! I went to two cocktail bars on the night of my birthday earlier this month – Above Board in Collingwood and The Everleigh in Fitzroy. Have also discovered that a nearby wine bar does an ‘oyster martini’. Here’s the vodka edition (I don’t like gin, sorry). It’s bloody delicious – if I had to describe it, I’d say it tastes like drunk ocean.

Breakfast bowls. Homemade granola with coconut yoghurt and whatever fruit is on hand, is really hitting the spot.

Iced chai at home, horchata if out and about. Delish.

Thanks for tuning in this month. I’m conducting a bit of an experiment this weekend and as such, will be back with another standalone post next week.

‘Til then, stay well and well-fed.

-Celine

If you like this, I’d in turn appreciate a like – consider it an offering to the algorithm gods? Just hit the heart and off you go.

Here was our last (inaugural!) bumper edition, in case you missed it:

Fearless women & visiting a remote archipelago: January 2024