A passion for fresh, original dishes made withthe best quality produce

Tag : Linseeds
"It gives [my husband and I] extra time with them over dinner," Marea Moulton says. "I'm a bit bossy. I feel that what we're eating [must be]tasty, fresh and well presented."
She says sitting around the table for a meal is somethingdeliberately done, to teach children manners from an early age andstimulate conversation.
They set the table properly every night - presentation is crucial.It's a skill she began acquiring aged 13 in her first job at acatering company - earning 50 cents an hour decorating trifles withjelly and cream. Her career later took her in another direction,with years spent as CEO of an employment company on the SouthCoast. At times she would cook lunches for the company's boardmeetings but her style and focus stayed in the home kitchen.
Even if friends drop in for a cup of tea, it's an event. The teamust be drunk with "lovely cups and saucers, and out of a beautifulteapot". She uses porcelain cups, silver teaspoons and ironedserviettes.
"It just makes all the difference," she says. "You spend so much ofyour life eating. You should do it in a way that's dignified and abit ceremonial."
Moulton regularly takes her own path rather than following a recipeand has developed her own bread.
"It lasts for a week, gets better with age and is nutritious …the secret is molasses."
Often creative with the ingredients, she has been known to addlapsang souchong tea as well as golden syrup. "I just love thatsmoky flavour of the tea."
A few years ago her youngest son, Lachlan, told her how happy itmade him to watch her make bread. She says it was a timely reminderof her own memories of food when growing up and how essential it isto the life of the family and a person's emotional make-up.
Lachlan, who nominated his mother, says she has an inbuilt instinct for good food and "a passion for fresh, original dishes made withthe best quality produce".
"I can't help myself, I'm a compulsive cook," she says. A healthy loaf
4 cups unbleached flour
2 cups wholemeal flour
5 tbsp instant dried yeast
4 tbsp wheatgerm
4 tbsp linseeds, or a combination of small seeds
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
4 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped almonds, peanuts or walnuts
Salt
1 cup molasses
3 tsp treacle or golden syrup
1 ½ litres warm water
Olive oil
Cream, for glazing
1 tsp sesame seeds or cracked pepper Preheat oven to 220C. Mix flours, yeast, wheatgerm, seeds, nuts andsalt together in a large bowl. Mix molasses, treacle and warm watertogether in a jug, add to dry mixture and work together with aspoon or spatula until it forms a dough mound. Knead for fiveminutes, pat with olive oil, then cover and leave in a warm place,covered, for one hour. Sprinkle a little flour in two bread tinsand separate risen dough into two equal parts. Knead each piece ofdough for five minutes, then shape and place in tins beforeallowing it to prove again for about half an hour in a warm place.Glaze with cream and sprinkle with seeds or cracked pepper. Bakefor five minutes, reduce heat to 200C and bake for another fiveminutes. Reduce heat again to 190C and bake a further 20 minutes oruntil brown on top. Turn loaves out onto wire racks to cool.