Accompaniments

Vegetables have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father loved his garden. We would spend time out in it whenever he wasn’t at work or fishing, his other great love. Being a boy from the country, he couldn’t imagine life without it. It was all very practical really, mint around the tap and lots of other herbs down the side of the house. Passionfruit vines grew on the back fence, choko on the side, and in the little plot at the back of the house were seasonal vegetables ranging from zucchini (courgette), tomato and squash in the summer to all sorts of root vegetables in autumn and early spring. I still remember summer watermelons lying on the ground, growing by the day. These are memories that evoke the season and the great taste of fresh fruit and vegetables eaten the day they’re picked. These days the variety and choice of vegetables available both in Australia and in many countries around the world is staggering. When I was growing up in the sixties, asparagus, artichoke, celeriac, fennel and so on were very rarely seen in the grocery shop, and even less often cooked by the average Australian. In those days we were just starting to develop into our multicultural Australia and people from the Mediterranean were the predominant new Australians. They brought with them eggplant (aubergine), a love of garlic, okra and red capsicums (peppers) and many other foods that at the time would have been considered exotic. How things have changed. We live in a country that offers everything that is available in Europe and Asia. The garden of Australia is a place of riches and if we eat in season its vegetables will offer great value and fabulous taste. I don’t need to get into lecture mode, as I know everyone is aware of how important vegetables are in a balanced diet. If we look after the balance, then we don’t need to go on fad diets. Balance is a great life philosophy, not just in food but in all things.