Ahoy hoy beautiful loved peoples and people who love beautifully, greetings from the sunny –then rainy – then sunny again North Coast!

We’ve just spent a fairly luxuriant weekend playing pastoralist in the back yard – artichokes, lemongrass, brocolli, rhubarb, silverbeet, lettuce, parsley, oregano and snow peas (does anyone know why they’re called that?) – thanks to a phenomenal bit of soil turning by the irrepressible Alan and Christopher Stretton and a flamboyant bit of whipper snippering by the multi-talented Rachela Varela (check the visuals!)

My self-appointed mission in Lismore Backyard Blitzkrieg has been the dissemination of our grey-water resources direct from the washing machine via a grey-water extension pipe to the veggies themselves. Dropping down 3 and a half metres from the balcony – plus the extra metre and half slope in the backyard has my wile neighbour calculating that we should get around 50 kilo Pastilles of pressure by the time the water reaches the garden. (It’s 10 kPa per metre of difference in level according to a man responsible for sustaining water supply to Lismore and the surrounding area.) Hopefully this will be enough to get the water up onto the mini-ersatz Roman adequeduct I’ve set up (with Rachel’s inspiration) over the lettuces. I just need to dangle myself over the balcony long enough to drill in the hose clamps and then we’ll know. Full pressure testing results to follow. =)

The house and environment are a having a wonderfully subtle and refreshing influence. Much lying in bed and marvelling at the space and quiet and strolling up the street at sunset to watch the bats fly over and lose ourselves in the spectacular array of clear-skied sunsets. This was a particularly dramatic evening that Rachel caught with her usual adroitness and eye for colour. The first photo was taken from outside our house looking back towards the town, whilst the second is of a beautiful house across the road.

The week has passed wonderfully with the household kicking alive to the sound of familiar stirrings – Matt, Chris and Dad all congregating for spontaneous meditation sessions in the mini-ashram downstairs, the scratching of Rachel’s pen on paper and the brewing of beautiful pots of fragrant rooibos and bergamot tea. Evenings were as much a joy, all reuniting to share adventures of the day and to savour the flavours of a fresh cooked meal. One of Rachela’s beautiful signature dishes took centre stage on a Wednesday night, inspired in part by the cornucopia of fresh organic produce in the fridge including the creamiest pumpkin I’ve ever eaten courtesy of our neighbour’s compost patch. For those looking for culinary variation here’s a humble attempt to pass on the majesty of Rachel’s brilliant creations:

Pumkinella a la Rachella

You’ll need

500g packet of pasta – e.g. Farfalle (Butterfly) or Penne

Quarter of a large Jap or Butternut pumpkin

A third of a cup of pine nuts

A bunch of continental flat-leaf parsley

About 150g of fetta or goats curd (creamy Bulgarian sheeps fetta is a good option)

Half a lemon

Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

Yummy top quality extra-virgin olive oil

Roast the pumpkin covered in a thin film of oil (too much oil and they’ll steam or swim). Roast the pine nuts in a small skillet or fry pan on a medium-low heat – make sure they don’t burn! Cook the pasta until just the tenderness you want and then blanch in cold water to stop from over cooking. Combine pumpkin, pasta, pine nuts, chopped parsley and crumbled fetta in a large bowl (or use the pasta saucepan). Add salt and pepper to taste and squeeze on some lemon juice for a bit of zing. Serve with a simple green salad or a rocket, parmesan and walnut number. Bon appetite!