May 10, 2021

At home with Sally from Simmer & Boyle

Tell me a bit about yourself and how you got to be doing what you’re doing.

I’m a recipe developer, food photographer, and infrequent blogger. Originally from the UK, I moved to Australia under protest after finishing high school. Met my husband at university, enrolling in the French Department, he borrowed my pen. We’ve moved around a fair bit, but settled back in Sydney almost 10 years ago, I maybe have one big move left in me… Home is in the suburbs, with 2 of our 3 kids, our dog, and many, many houseplants. I’ve always loved cooking, and fell into catering after organising the food at school events; blogging and recipe development were a natural progression.

What is a simple pleasure or daily ritual that brings you joy?

Making my bed, especially with clean sheets. I like things to be neat, I rarely achieve that, but having a somewhere to retreat, away from the chaos is so important.

Have there been any silver linings for you during this strange covid era?

The slower pace, stripping back the unnecessary. Spending more time at home, together, not worrying about where the kids are. How hard is it to send a text?

What do you do for yourself when you need to slow down or take a break?

I’ve always found it hard to calm my mind, to find quiet. I’ve discovered solutions over time, some obvious, reading in the bath, knitting, others more surprising like ironing tea towels and organising shelves. I’ve very recently learnt to crochet, it has endless possibilities.

What’s your favourite season and why?

In Sydney, any but summer. Autumn at a pinch.

What is the meal you love making the most right now?

Gnocchi, particularly pan fried ricotta gnocchi, but the kids have gone off it. Dumplings are another favourite, something we all enjoy, but apparently I’m scary and best avoided when it comes to the folding stage… There’s always a baking project in the background, currently it’s sponge, in its many forms, I’m trying to perfect a chiffon cake roll, it needs work!

What does home mean to you?

Home is where I’m happiest. Not the building so much, but where my family are, the dog, familiar things, house plants, books; a cliché I know, but it’s a sanctuary, with a door I can choose to open or close.