Dispatches from my kitchen

My kitchen has pale pink tiles, appliances from the '80s and a walk in pantry. I'm there on Monday nights, making yoghurt and listening to music as I ease back into the week. And this year I plan to spend more of my time prepping food for other people.

I didn't make any resolutions at the start of the year, just a wish-list of fun things to do (try out boogie boarding, sample a Manhattan - that kind of thing) and some loose goals. One of them was to make meals for friends, family and colleagues more often, which perfectly suits my introverted self :)

Here's what I made this month:

One of the first things I made was a three layer coconut cake for a 40th birthday party my workmate was throwing for his partner. I loved working on something so celebratory. I found a few sparkly candles at the cake shop in town and spent a night listening to TLC while gently throwing desiccated coconut at the freshly iced cake. It was messy and fun. My friend sent me a photo of his partner blowing out the candles while he held the cake and it made my day.

I made a plum cake for my grandmother the night before we drove to Sydney for my grandfather's funeral. A friend from work had brought in a huge container of dark purple plums from her mother's garden and baking the cake gave me a real sense of purpose.

After the wake, my extended family gathered to partake in a Chinese tradition, where you eat something sweet after a funeral so you can remember all of the good memories you have of the person. We shared my cake, ate mini Magnums and passed around bags of butterscotch lollies and jubes. We laughed and joked and it felt good.

My most recent dispatch went to one of the reporters at work and his wife who are expecting their first baby any. day. now. It was a good excuse to use my new cookbook and bake a batch of coconut choc chip cookies. I managed to stash a lasagne in our freezer too, which always feels good. And inspired by Yasmeen's cute little snap, I bought a packet of nappies with smiley face pears on them too. I don't expect every month will be this busy but I'm happy to be off to a solid start :)