Hello!
Welcome to my blog.
I’m Ruby, a self-taught cook, plant based food lover and budding photography enthusiast.
Welcome to my blog.
I’m Ruby, a self-taught cook, plant based food lover and budding photography enthusiast.
My favourite picture of my mum (pregnant with me).
I come from a family of passionate cooks. My grandmother was one of the first women in Australia to be commercially employed as a chef in the male dominated 1950’s restaurant world. She passed this skill onto my mum who was the most instinctual cook I have ever met. Mum was able to throw anything together to create a beautiful meal all whilst juggling full time work and lots of children.
Dad on childcare.
Another factor in my cooking journey was the somewhat unusual way I grew up. My family and a number of other like-minded people decided to start an intentional community in the Victorian bush called Commonground. My early childhood was full of adventure, home schooling, dusty building sites, camping, eating outside, summer dam swimming and winter cosy firesides. There was a gang of us kids and we spent our time roaming free and causing chaos.
Us kids “helping” out on the building site.
We all lived, played and ate together under the one roof. We had rosters for everything, childcare, cooking, cleaning and us kids were expected to pitch in. This included cooking a large vegetarian meal for the whole community at a young age. I still remember the excitement I felt the first time it was my turn to cook for everyone.
Kate on bath time. Yes in a blow up boat.
Commonground also had a large commercial kitchen to cater for groups staying at Commonground. So the little budding chef in me was in heaven. Any chance I had, I would be getting in the way of the chef and begging to help. My favorite job was cutting strawberry halves into little fans for the dessert. So 90’s! I learnt so much about good vegetarian food in the Commonground kitchen and without a doubt these experiences shaped where I am today.
Seems we spend a lot of time on the back of a tractor…..
After high school, I decided not become a chef and went to university, thinking I wanted a more stable career. In brief, I turned out to be wrong. And after a few aimless years figuring out what I wanted to do with myself, I returned to what I loved all along and started catering. Fast forward a few years and I had met my partner Che and we had our first daughter, Frankie. Due to her in-utero nickname Figlet, she soon became known as Figgie or just Fig.
Fig and Scout.
Nine months later my mum died from pancreatic cancer. I had waited my whole life to have a child and to lose my mum so early into my journey as a parent sucked. She had six kids herself and Fig was her first long waited-for granddaughter. We lived with her in her final months (and my daughter’s first months) and I like to think she imparted her wisdom (and love for food!) onto Fig in that short time. I have another daughter now, Scout. I still can’t believe my mum never met her.
Mum and I doing what we do best in Italy not long before she got sick.
Whilst mum did leave me with a love of good food, she did not leave me with all her wonderful recipes neatly typed up in a book. All I have left is folders of her illegible handwriting and my fading memories. I also inherited her haphazard approach to organisation and filing so most of my recipes are in my head. So this blog is my attempt to ensure that this food legacy is not lost and can be passed onto to my daughters. And of course I also hope my recipes inspire you – dear reader!