A heartfelt thank you for the lovely emails and good wishes you have been sending. They are much appreciated. I also miss seeing you all here, doing what I love and cooking with you in my kitchen. I do hope that you and your family are doing okay out there. I thought you would like an update on what is happening in the Cooking on the Bay kitchen. So here are my thoughts and what I have been doing…
This newsletter has been a difficult one to write in these Corona Covid-19 days. With our lives on hold, for me, it has been a time to reflect on life, to re-focus, to build resilience, and most importantly to focus on kindness toward others out there in the community, and most especially, love to our families. It has been a long two months since the last class here on March 15th – that seems like an entire world away.
Autumn in Melbourne is a lovely time of the year; however, this autumn is like no other with COVID-19 coronavirus all around us, testing us in many ways, and affecting some people very tragically, sad beyond belief.
Living in isolation it is hard to believe there is a semblance of normal life out there.…the leaves are still turning to yellow, then gold and red, mornings are still crisp, and fresh, with some warm and sunny days, and then cooler evenings. My morning walks could be under blue, sunny skies or with the sea raging, wind blowing and a grey stormy sky! Such is living in Melbourne, and it continues despite coronavirus. My autumn days were cheered last weekend when I received these glorious autumn flowers for my birthday! So instead of a photo of Melbourne in Autumn, here are the beautiful autumn flowers instead. They remind me of the flowers you see in the villages and towns in spring in France.
This time is one for building resilience, focusing on kindness toward others, and remembering the importance of family and community. My wish is that we grow in new ways, are inspired, and will come out stronger on the other side of all of this, and to become better cooks!
Cook at Home with Tonya! It is all about Low Carb Healthy Fat
Like many of you, I have been busy working on my business, plus doing things I usually do not get time to do. So, whilst locked away, my most exciting news from Cooking on the Bay is the launch of my Cook at Home with Tonya series of videos! I am excited about this video series, with Michael, the silent partner, behind the camera.
This has been my way of sharing my love of food and cooking and the pleasure I enjoy from cooking in my kitchen here. You can now come along with me and cook these dishes in your kitchens in your home!
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- Cook Real Food
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- A busy kitchen
Cook at Home with Tonya focuses entirely on all the Low Carb Healthy Fat dishes that form part my Cook Real Food healthy eating program here at Cooking on the Bay. Many of you have attended some of these classes and so you know they focus on creating healthy and nutritious dinners and lunches. One of my happy clients shared that she has been following and cooking these dishes in the Cook at Home with Tonya series, for her and her husband for the past month and her husband’s daily blood sugars have gone down from 11.7 to 5.7 – how exciting is that! What a fabulous result.
You will find some great dishes in the series with lots more on the way. The recipes are all on the website
The dishes are a variety of easy, seasonal dishes, made with every day, available ingredients. It is a lovely way for me to connect with you, so do come and join me, in the Cook at Home with Tonya classes, cooking in my Cooking on the Bay kitchen. So far some of the dishes include pumpkin and mussel soup, curried prawns with Vietnamese mint, fish pie with mussels and prawns, meatballs in a mushroom sauce, duck liver pâté, pumpkin and mussel soup, spaghetti squash, pumpkin and mascarpone frittata, baked lemon and herb ricotta, roasted tomato sauce and mayonnaise. With more on the way.
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- Spring salad
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- Omelette cooked with bacon, cheese, tomatoes, spring onions and chives
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- Ready to make slow-cooked tomato sauce
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- Curries prawns with Vietnamese mint
The Cook at Home with Tonya series can be viewed in a variety of ways.
One is on YouTube.
Do take a few moments and have a look. It would be marvellous if you would subscribe as well.
On my YouTube channel, or under any the recipe videos, click on the SUBSCRIBE button and then also on the bell button to the left
This way, each time a video is added you will be alerted. I add about two a week at the moment and will continue with one a week once we resume cooking classes full-time.
The first way is via this Website
one is on YouTube. Click this button…. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yf6Wpn4z2hnRsN7oznDJg?view_as=subscriber
Do take a few moments and have a look and you can also subscribe via the links on the website.
and the third way to see the videos is via Facebook where I always add them, but Facebook does not really like to promote YouTube videos.
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’…said Charles Dickens in ‘The tale of two cities’, this keeps resonating in my head. This is now, has been and still is a shocking time for us, but there are some happy times and silver linings on those clouds. I do hope you can find some of those silver linings and there are some best of times out there for all of you.
I will notify you all immediately when the cooking classes are staring back. The classes will be the same friendly, relaxed and happy classes, just a bit smaller, which will be lovely and more intimate.
I hope you are holding your loved ones close and I wish you all health and safety on this journey.
Stay well and keep safe, and continue to enjoy your cooking.
Goodbye for now from Tonya
Cooking on the Bay Gift Vouchers continue to be available via the website and we immediately email you back with the vouchers and with some information on the classes.
