Carter’s Kitchen No. 8
Ophelia Mikkelson, Mangawhai Heads, New Zealand
Ophelia Mikkelson, Mangawhai Heads
Ophelia is one of my closest friends. We spent a lot of time together in our early twenties in Sydney. I even lived with her and her mum when I had nowhere else to go. We now see each other once a year and love visiting her family in Northland. Ophelia’s meals are always long-lasting, stretching from lunch into dinner. There’s always a variety of dishes and her family is soft, warm and welcoming.
Where is your kitchen, and what does it look out onto?
Hi Carter! As you know we had lived without a full kitchen for the past five years (just a hot plate and a small counter oven) which was small and not ideal for our growing family who all love to cook. Recently, we put a little kitchen in the north corner of the house. It looks out to native bush and green pastures in the distant and more closely our flowering Tibouchina trees, the last of the summer cosmos and overgrown garden beds. Out one of the windows I can see my Pineapple Sage plant which has grown really big. It always reminds me of you because the first time I learnt about Pineapple Sage was almost 7 years ago when we visited you in your new home in Byron Bay. You made me tea with it and told me about its properties. We were all waiting for Patience to arrive!
What’s the first thing you do when you walk into it?
Usually I see a mountain of dishes yet to be done and then flick the kettle on.
What’s usually left out on the bench or within reach?
Terra Santa olive oil, Maldon salt and lots of local eggs.
What do you have when you don’t feel like cooking at all?
Eggs on corn tortillas with whatever greens, or hot sauce or pickles are in the fridge.
What do you eat or drink almost every day?
Tea and toast.
What’s the last thing you made, even if it was simple?
For lunch I made a simple green soup with all the veggies in the fridge—we will have it for dinner too
.
Is there something you make on repeat without thinking?
Dahl. My mum had five of us so I think I have learnt to make meals in big quantities that will last for more than just one sitting. Dahl is delicious and gets better the longer it is on the stove. We eat it with a dollop of yogurt or your perfect rice.
What do you have late at night or early in the morning?
Early in the morning I drink hot water and apple cider vinegar.
Is there a drink you make all the time?
Tea
Is there something you always order when you’re out?
I love eating fish when we are out
.Is there a place you go back to for the same meal?
On Saturday morning we go to our local markets, our friend Ary (who’s 16) makes amazing dosa there and we have them for breakfast every week.
What’s something you’ve eaten recently that stayed with you?
This time last year I was lucky enough to go to Sydney with a close friend. It was the first time I had been away from my (at the time) almost 4 year old for two consecutive nights. We were staying in Redfern/ back of Surrey Hills very close to the flat that you and I, Carter, lived in in our late teens. The hotel that we were staying at had a fruit shop next door and it was papaya season. Sunrise papayas! They have always been my favorite fruit with a squeeze of lime if you can find one. I love how they are somewhere between sweet and savoury. A simple perfect meal.
How do you take your coffee or tea?
Earl grey—black.
Where do you eat your meals most of the time?
At the kitchen table although I have a bad habit of using our kitchen table as my studio to work from and paint on too. So it is always cluttered and full of drooping flowers and paint palettes and books.
What do you like listening to in your kitchen?
Ryder makes really great playlists— at the moment the one I have been listening to has a lot of songs by a band named snuggle. I like the names of their songs too: woman lake, dust, sun tan, marigold and calendula.
What’s something slightly imperfect in your kitchen that you still use?
All of my wooden spoons and spatulas are worn out and perfect to me.
A meal or food moment that stays with you:
I went to Greece for a second time in my early 20’s with Ryder. We were staying on this tiny island called Sifnos. We chose it because it had something like 245 churches on it. We stayed on a very remote part of the island because it was the cheapest. We didn’t have a rental car or anything so we would just walk around this tiny fishing town and swim. The side where we were staying was the picture of Greece— tiny white and blue houses, octopus hanging outside one of the two restaurants, calm crystal blue water. But when we would walk up to the tiny church that overlooked both sides of the peninsular the cliffs on the other side were sheer and more ruggarded. We started walking up there most days as we were there for weeks. We would take small pocketfuls of dried figs and walnuts and goat’s cheese and eat it on flat rocks between the picturesque bay and the jagged rocks, using the rock as our table. I will never forget it. I hope to go back there one day, hopefully all of us together.
Follow Ophelia’s art and photography here.
Ophelia recently returned to Sydney, where we spent many happy times together in our early twenties. She’s loves papaya with lime juice and papayas are available year round where we live. We also have a very generous lime tree which is in season at the moment. I love to enjoy it with some toasted coconut too. Here’s how I like to eat it.
