Michelle Crawford and her husband were city dwellers from Sydney before they ditched the hustle and bustle for a little wooden farmhouse in Huon Valley. They had two children, Hugo and Elsa, which became the name of the blog she started to document their childhood. Today, with the kids at school, Michelle writes about another topic close to her heart: food. Not fancy food, mind you; rustic, country numbers, like shortcakes with macerated strawberries, tea cake dotted with bright, purple mulberries, refreshing white peach agua fresca and honest red cordial made from homegrown raspberries. Food that Michelle picks from her garden, or picks up at the local farm, and turns into delicious, seasonal fare. Like many great food bloggers, she has also turned her hobby into something more: a recipe styling gig with Gourmet Farmer’s Matthew Evans and her own cookbook-memoir, to be released in May.
Here in Tasmania’s Huon Valley, summer is filled with visits to fruit farms for strawberries, and roadside stalls for bucketloads of more fresh fruit like tomatoes and cherries.
"At our local peach farm, we buy case after case of white peaches, nectarines and apricots. As the season progresses, different varieties appear, with winsome names like Elegant Lady, O’ Henry, Summer Bright and Huon Pride. I have the good intention of preserving them for winter but often we just eat them as they are – standing over the sink to catch the juices. Friends of ours own a blueberry farm, so we often head there to pick our own and fill buckets with berries. Then it’s home to eat them straight away, make jam or freeze them to cook later – usually on French toast or pancakes for a winter weekend breakfast. In our own garden, raspberries grow like crazy and we spend afternoons eating the lovely red squishy jewels. Our sprawling mulberry tree also drips with inky purple fruits that stain our fingers as we make them into cakes or jam. These are the fruits that fill our January days and the delicious things we do with them.”
I started my blog to… Keep in touch with family and friends when we moved from Sydney to Tasmania. However, it quickly turned into a blog about our adventures in the beautiful Tasmanian countryside and the delicious things we eat.
The must-cook recipe on my website is… Chocolate Victoria sponge cake – you can’t go wrong with the classics.
I can’t wait to go back to… Turkey to eat all the delicious tomatoes.
My current food obsession is… Bone marrow butter.
Eating… Cornish pasties takes me back to my grandmother’s kitchen.
Nugget of cooking wisdom… I love Julia Childs quote: “People who love to eat are always are the best people.” I’ve found it to be quite true!
I learnt to cook from… Reading loads and loads of cookbooks and making lots of mistakes.
When I go back to my home town… Sydney,the first thing I eat is yum cha.
Friends always ask me to cook my… I don’t really have a signature dish as such, but a jar of my jam is always appreciated.
The one thing I can’t cook is… Factory-farmed meat.
If I ever met… Nigella Lawson, I would ask her over for dinner and a chat over a glass of wine. I reckon she’d be great company.
I always have… Eggs in my pantry, butter in my fridge and blueberries in my freezer.
My favourite biscuit to dunk in a cup of tea is… A chocolate digestive.
My most sauce-splattered cookbook is… The Food of Italy by Claudia Roden. It’s timeless. The chapters are divided into the regions of Italy and the recipes are simple, traditional dishes that never go out of style.
The most difficult food to shoot/style and make look tasty is… I’m so lucky that I get to work a lot with food photographer Alan Benson; he can make anything look delicious. But sometimes I struggle with round things – cakes, tarts or pies. When I cut out a slice to see the middle they always end up looking like Pac-Man!
Beyond my own blog, some of my favourites reads are… Manger by Mimi Thorisson is a current favourite – what a life! Lunchlady – Kate Berry is saving the world one lunch box at a time. Local is Lovely by Sophie Hanson. Meet Me at Mikes – Pip has some great recipes on her blog. So good.
1. Bright red drinks (raspberry cordial)
2. Mulberry tea cake
3. Strawberry shortcakes 
4. White peach and mint agua fresca
Blog Appétit Editor Yasmin Newman
Source: Michelle Crawford
Source: Michelle Crawford
Portrait photography by Luisa Brimble. Food photography by Michelle Crawford.
Blog Appétit is our curated list of go-to food blogs we love, with a focus on high-quality photography, trusted recipes, strong editorial themes and a unique voice and personality. View previous Blog Appétit entries.
