Carter’s Kitchen No. 12
Sarah Darling, Byron Bay
Sarah Darling, Byron Bay
I’ve known sweetheart Sarah for as long as I’ve known Jack. She’s married to one of Jack’s band members. Our kids spend so much time together that last night, when we happened to be at the same pizza restaurant for dinner (our partners were away so we didn’t feel like cooking), the five kids behaved like siblings. It was a bit much in a quiet restaurant but they had a great time. Sarah is a yoga teacher and a talented artist who creates abstract paintings in dreamy colours. She has a sweet soul and a gentle energy. We’ve travelled to the other side of the world together and enjoy a wine and a cigarette (naughty I know) together too. I love her, her home and her kitchen.
Where is your kitchen, and what does it look out onto?
Right now my kitchen is in my art studio as we prepare to build a house, it is very much temporary.
It is at the back of a big open warehouse space so it has a view of my workspace.
What’s the first thing you do when you walk into it?
Every morning I go down to the kitchen at 5am to make a coffee, it’s always dark. I make filter coffee then I take it up and sit in my warm bed.
The hot air rises in the studio and makes the mezzanine floor a lot warmer than the downstairs in the early morning.
What’s usually left out on the bench or always within reach?
Everything ha ha. I have a problem with putting things away. I seem to always have a grater, a garlic crusher my dad got me and a lemon squeezer nearby which I think means I use these a lot. Also herbal tea bags, pepper, a pot of salt, chilli flakes and supplements and tinctures because for some reason they also live in the kitchen. I think the reason there is so much random stuff in my kitchen is because it’s the only place I have high shelves so anything the little ones shouldn’t touch also ends up within reach.
What do you make when you don’t feel like cooking at all?
I make the boys omelettes, I don’t eat them because I don’t really eat eggs but I like making them and they are so fast and fun to make. For me I probably make a smoothie, a salad sandwich or maybe pasta with a kale sauce. I just blanch the kale and a clove of garlic quickly in the pasta water while the pasta is cooking then whizz it up with lemon and olive oil. When I don’t feel like cooking it’s normally because I don’t feel like cleaning so anything I can make without many dishes!
What’s something you cook on repeat?
Cannellini or butter beans with olive oil, chilli, lemon, herbs and parmesan. Will never get over it, ever.
Who or what taught you how to cook?
I think I taught myself how to cook really. I had Italian grandparents who used to cook for me but they very much wanted me to sit down so they could feed me instead of me cooking with them. Then I started cooking badly when I moved out of home. My partner said he remembers my burnt brown rice from that time lol. He is really good at cooking so since being with him I definitely started cooking more. We fight a lot in the kitchen because he is bossy but we make so much yum food together.
Describe a meal that felt really good recently.
My partner made a really gooey cheesy lasagna. It was so yum, he rolled out the sheets and made the sauce.
Who do you most like cooking for (or eating with)?
I like cooking for and eating with friends. Most of the time I am cooking for and eating with my little ones. They can be brutal and messy dinner guests and the conversation is really random. It is fun and funny but I think when I do get to eat with friends it feels like a treat!
What’s a small food ritual or habit you have?
I think a weekly food ritual I have is going to the farmers market, to get all my produce. I like going to the markets at New Brighton so I can also get a slice of the Nomadic Kitchen’s potato tortilla. It’s become a weekly ritual before or after school drop off.
What is something you love making?
I love baking tarts with stone fruits and making choc chip cookies. I haven’t got a proper oven at the moment so I am looking forward to having one again.
Where do you eat your meals most of the time?
We have a long piece of wood on some trestles that is our table. We eat there. Little Yves has to sit on a stack of books which is cute.
What do you like listening to in your kitchen?
We have a CD player and Angus collects CD’s from the op shop. We also have started collecting kids audio books on CDS. We are listening to Roald Dahl stories and some stories about fairies.
What’s something slightly imperfect in your kitchen that you still use?
We have a little toaster oven as an oven. It cooks everything a little unevenly but it still gets a workout. We also have a blender that is missing part of its lid. We just cover it with a plate and hope for the best, so rogue.
A meal or food moment that stays with you:
I lived in Barcelona for a couple of years and I used to always have pan con tomate and a cortado. The most simple and the best!
You can follow Sarah here and her art practice here.
For lunch today I has pan con tomate and here’s how I made it:
