with Simmone Logue
Welcome to My Seasonal Cooking and Gardening Column
Exploring the beauty of each season through the food I cook, what’s happening in my garden, with tricks and tips and adventures too.
Hello, dear readers!
My name is Simmone Logue, and I am thrilled to welcome you to this monthly column, where we’ll embark on a journey through the seasons, celebrating the art of seasonal cooking and gardening. Whether you’re a expert gardener, an enthusiastic cook, or simply curious about how the changing seasons can enrich our lives, this space is for you.
A Little About Me
Both my grannies were great cooks. My paternal grannie Nana Logue taught home science (when that was a thing) at Muswellbrook high school and my maternal grannie Nana Fairhurst ran the canteen in the pits in Newcastle when they immigrated out here from England as 10-pound poms. I’m sure it was soaking in through osmosis when I was little, as my love for cooking and gardening is running through my veins like a golden butterscotch sauce. The kitchen and garden have always been and always will be irresistible to me.
I started my cooking career in my small flat in Sydney baking cakes (recipes from both grannies) and selling to the cafes and restaurants close by. Over the next 30 years I built the household name Simmone Logue Fine Food, baking beautiful patisserie and home dinners, and selling to hungry people all over the country mostly through Harris Farm, Woolworths and Qantas airlines .
Watching seeds grow into vibrant plants and transforming fresh ingredients into delicious meals has always felt magical to me and the journey I have been on so far has been so very rewarding and one I have much gratitude for.
Recently I opened a cooking school at my beloved Essington Park in Oberon where I now share my recipes with people from all over Australia. Over the years, I’ve cultivated not just a garden, but a lifestyle here at Essington Park that honours the beauty of each season. From the crisp, earthy harvests of autumn to the fragrant blooms of spring, I believe there’s something extraordinary to discover every month.
I so look forward to sharing with you and hearing back from you of course, as after all, isn’t that what it’s all about? Recipes and tips passed on and made our own maybe with our own little twists.
As we embark on this journey together, I hope you’ll find moments that spark joy, inspire creativity, and deepen your connection to the simple pleasures of life.
Until next time, may your kitchen be filled with laughter, your garden with life, and your heart with warmth.
Simmone x
Recipe of the Month
Mushrooms on toast with spinach and feta
Serves 2
With all the rain we have had recently dotted with a little bit of sunshine you are sure to find some mushrooms out in the fields or in the forest, and hey, we could all do with the fresh air and exercise also. Here is a recipe for my favourite way with mushrooms. Excellent for a weekend luxurious brekkie or a nurturing, easy and delicious weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
4 large field or pine mushrooms.
100g salted butter approximately
4 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 nice thick slices of sourdough bread
200g baby English spinach
Juice of ½ a lemon and extra lemon wedges to serve
120g feta cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
Chopped parsley for sprinkling
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Method
Preheat the oven on 180*C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Lay the mushrooms on the tray cut side up and dot with butter. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Just a little, not too much.
Bake in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and the butter and vinegar have oozed into the mushrooms .
Toast the sourdough bread, smear them with lashings of butter and keep warm.
In a frying pan heat a big knob of butter over a medium heat until it foams. Add the spinach and wilt it down. Squeeze the lemon over the spinach and season with salt and pepper.
Heat two plates and add the toast. Evenly distribute the spinach between the plates. Add the mushrooms being careful to retain the juices that have gathered in the mushroom cups – this is good stuff!
Top each with the feta and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lemon on the side.
Delicious!
Photos supplied by Simmone Logue
