Meet Dawn Tan - my illustrative superhero

Dawn Tan loves to draw vegetables and boy, does she do it well. Based in Yarraville, but an illustrator of the world, Dawn is the inner west’s Queen of Colour. I discovered her vibrant illustrations while reading one of my favourite magazines. I was first drawn to her watercolour drawing of a croissant, but a little research drew me to her sublime vegie sketches.

“I absolutely love vegetables. There’s something about the colours, textures, tastes and shapes. There are so many different varieties and ways of eating and cooking different vegetables. Growing up in Singapore, I was used to all the Asian vegetable varieties. I remember being in shock when I arrived in Australia – there were just so many new vegetable types that I had never seen before: Brussel sprouts, fennel, dill!

“My husband and I went to London recently and we were blown away by all the different salads at Ottolenghi. They were all filled with strange but new vegetables we’ve never seen or tried before. Vegetables are amazing!”

Dawn runs regular classes teaching food enthusiasts how to draw, paint and colour fruit and vegetables. Perhaps the perfect experience to expand your culinary horizons, but how do you choose what to draw as there are so many varieties to choose from?

“It’s so hard to pick what my favourite vegetable is, but I do draw a lot of corn. I love the colour yellow so it’s only natural that I like drawing (and eating) corn, right?”

“I do cook quite a bit and really enjoy the process of doing so. I find it so relaxing. I love cooking soup at this time of year. I swear by this amazing chunky vegetable and bean soup by Jools Oliver. I’ve cooked it so much my husband is sick of it already, but it’s so good for you with all that crunchy kale.

“I love my local Pompello in Seddon and the Village Store in Yarraville for fruit and vegetables. However, for most of my weekly haul, my husband and I head to the fruit and vegetable store in Highpoint or venture to the South Melbourne Market.

If you don’t bump into Dawn at your local fruit and vegetable supplier, you can find her teaching at one of her workshops or head on over to her website to view her work at www.dawn-tan.com

Don’t like your daily dose of fruit and veg, Dawn does a wicked sketch of house frontages too.

Images courtesy of Dawn Tan.

This profile first appeared in the May issue of The Westsider.

Pull on Your Pumpkin Pants this Season

Ahhh… can  you smell that? It smells pretty delicious doesn’t it? A blend of crisp chills, sunshine, wood fire and slow cooking all combined. Yep, it must be Autumn.

What an  excellent time of year it is, especially in the west. There’s something about this season that makes me want to cook. Hardcore cook, as in live off the fat o’ the land, tend to the rabbits and get all Steinbeck in the kitchen.

We are very lucky in the west to have access to so many great fruit and vegetable grocers and markets. But with access to all types of fruit and vegetables all year round in the major supermarkets it can get confusing knowing what is in season and what has come from a local grower.

Rino from Vari’s Organics in West Footscray suggests getting to know your local grocer and asking them questions about where the produce has come from.

He explains that in Autumn, grapes, strawberries and melons are coming towards the end of their season and we will start to see apples, pears and persimmons gracing our grocers. When the cooler months arrive we will start to see the citrus lines come in.

“We’re anxiously awaiting the start of the mandarins and navel oranges season. However biting into a crisp sweet apple is the best at this time of the year. Our favourite family dish is a homemade hot apple pie.

“It’s important to buy seasonal fruit and veg because you are then following the natural growing and planting cycle. Nothing artificial is added when growing organic fruit and veg, which of course is beneficial to our health and the environment.

“Less food miles means less pollution by transportation and organic growing methods ensure we are taking care of our planet and putting back nutrients into the soil which in turn benefits future crops and future generations.

“It’s also important to remember that if you buy local you are supporting local farmers, ensuring they have a fair go and are not being squeezed out by large farming organisations predominantly controlled by the supermarkets who then import and export fresh produce all over the world.”

While I’m a massive fan of Vari’s Organic produce (we purchase a fruit and veg box every week for $35 which covers our little family), I’ve become inspired by my neighbour who dropped two sweet pumpkins along with other garden produce on our doorstep the other day. There’s something so lovely about picking and eating food, knowing exactly where it came from. I’ve planted kale, chick peas (I’ve never grown these before), eggplant, beans and chillis in a newly developed vegie patch in our front yard (how much more Yarraville can you get). I’m so excited to swap my vegie goods for my neighbour’s lemons when the season kicks in.

It certainly ‘tis the season to get outdoors and explore the local farmer’s markets or take a sweet trip out to one of the sublime country towns within an hour of the west. It’s not just the produce drawing me outside, but the sensational colours of the trees and that delicious smell that winter is on its way.

Too cold? Grab a parka and some boots and get chomping.

Looking for country inspiration?  Head to Trentham SpudFest on Saturday 7 May and celebrate all things potato. More info at www.trenthamspudfest.org.au  

Looking to purchase awesome in season produce? Vari’s Organics puts together delicious fruit and vegie boxes from $35 and delivers to the inner west or you can make your seasonal selection in store at 590 Barkly Street, West Footscray. Head to www.varisorganics.com.au

Photos by the ever-so-talented Paul Large.

Best weekends

Are there any other publicist / chef relationships out there? If so, please knock on my door and have a beer with me as I'd love to hear your stories of logistics, shift work, balance and options and how you find ways to pump up the jam.

Hubster and I totally pumped up the jam yesterday. We had a freaking RARE as fuck Saturday DAY AND NIGHT off together, but as we have an almost three year old, there was no sleeping in. Instead we pre-planned the night before a seriously rad beach trip.

Our favourite beach to head to is Indented Head because it has a funny name and one shop called a General Store and no phone reception. It's very cool.

We packed badly (only one nappy and no shoes for the kid + a broken beach tent) but it didn't matter. It was a pearler of a day and shoes are overrated in summer.

If you have never been to Indented Head before, it's time to try it. Especially if you have a toddler. There's a shipwreck, rock pools and sail boats. And it's just so goddamn quiet you can hear yourself think. Only about an hour and a bit from Melbourne-town too. Leave your phone at home.

But it came time to leave the beach and grabs some snacks which meant pick up some shoes for the kid thanks to the superbly hot ground. We could only source Haviana thongs in Portarlington for $25 a pop (kill me - for thongs!) which meant the extravagant lunch we had in mind turned to pies, Oak flavoured milk and jelly slice at the local bakery. Which turned out to be pretty excellent if you're into 1990s-style baked treats.

It's these weekends, half planned, half winging it that turn out the best. Flicking on the radio to hear Foreigner, spotting a pirate ship at the pier, grabbing a kilo of muscles from a boat, and my favourite, scoring freshly picked fruit at the local Williamstown Farmers Market and watching my kid sit on the ground and devour piece after piece after piece until all my coins ran out.

Happy Valentine's day to all the loved up people out there. May you be eating the food my man is cooking up today while he works or listening to the sweet sounds of the orchestra while I work tonight.

I hope next weekend is filled with just as much love, if not... .find yourself a jelly slice and discover love at first sight!

Thursdays

I love Thursdays. Heaps. The excitement of Thursdays fills our household every Wednesday night as we talk about all the things that happen on a Thursday:

1. Maureen Day

Maureen our cleaner comes and makes everything manageable. She even lines up Alfie's shoes and rearranges his toys to make them look like they have been talking to each other during the day.

I've never met Maureen, but our little kitchen bench notes featuring smiley faces, kisses and giggly messages filled with apologies, 'sorry our house represents a banana peel tip' or 'excuse the sultana squish, it's not rat poo' or 'sorry our house smells like poo fart today. It was a big morning'.
Her responses always make me smile as I walk into our fresh smelling house: 'it's ok about the poo fart, it looks like you have a very busy boy to look after. I took the bike out of the bath'.

We love Maureen.

2. Fruit and Veggie Day

By Wednesday night, we are either so cleaned out in the fridge department that we are eating eggs on toast with beans for tea or we have veggies to 'use up'. Either way, we have a task at hand because on Thursdays we get a big box of rad in season fruit and veg from Vari's Organics. It's so exciting to open the special box left on our doorstep (sometimes we get home in time to catch Vari at our door), we sort through the contents like hungry children and put everything neatly away in the fridge.

Thursday night always means best veggies for tea.

We love Vari.

3.Thursday Friday

Thursday is my Friday in the office. It's my day to get all my things done for the week. I'm lucky that I love my job, so I smash out some good quality publicity stuff in the office and aim for a 5.30pm departure, planning my three day weekend with my son on the train trip home.

Sometimes I take my shoes off on the train and walk home barefoot.

Sometimes I get to attend a super sweet classical concert for work featuring some of the most incredible music you have ever heard. This sound takes me right through the weekend. NB: I don't attend concerts barefoot.

I love Thursday.

4. Lunch order day

As Thursday is Friday, quite often I plan for it to be a lunch order day and don't bring a packed lunch. This is my treat, a little chance to explore some local Southbank cuisine with a colleague. I always buy lollies for the afternoon, because I'm really eight years old. My colleague always buys biscuits - but they have to be on sale. It gives us something to talk about on the walk back to the office. Sometimes I buy Chicken Crimpys to share with work mates if it has been a busy day.

I love lunch orders.

Are you a Thursday person?