Kym of the King: 2008

I tried this tomato chilli jam at cousin Ashley's with pappadams - and was hooked. I got the recipe (Skye Gyngell's from Delicious magazine) and made it immediately.
The crowd has been braying for the recipe. And here it is.

Chilli jam (makes three cups - so you might want to double the recipe as there is time and fiddling involved). Great with everything from pappadams to cheese - or, as Skye G. says - lamb cutlets, grilled scallops or scrambled eggs.

1.5 kg roma tomatoes (see pic), halved lengthways
a half cup of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow (I used brown because I had them) mustard seeds
8cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 long red chillies
1 tablespoon of olive oil
140g caster sugar
a third of a cup of fish sauce

Preheat oven to 160degrees C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Place tomatoes on trays, cut-side up, then roast for 1 hour 20 minutes until softened.
(Kymoftheking's tip is to roughly peel the tomatoes at this stage and chop up the skins a bit, otherwise they don't break up at all as even when it's been cooked, tomato skin is so sturdy.)
Place vinegar, mustard seeds, ginger, garlic and chilli in a blender and puree until you have a rough paste. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add chilli mixture and cook, stirring, for two minutes or until fragrant. Add the sugar, fish sauce and tomato, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and squashing the tomatoes with the back of your spoon until reduced and thickened.
(You'll need to stir frequently towards the end to prevent catching.) Cool, then pour the chilli jam into the sterilised jars.
Store in the fridge for two to three weeks. Well, if you can. It seems to disappear fairly fast.

http://www.888dag.com/

http://www.888dag.com/

Today I went to the funeral of a very dear man - a witty, kind man who loved his job as a paparazzi and was so good at it. Dave Morgan. David Morgan. "Darlin'" as I liked to call him (well, he started it).
Andrew Urban has written so beautifully about him on Urban Cinephile: http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=15115&s=Features
Last month I was flying back to Sydney from Melbourne on a Saturday evening. Derby Day as it turned out. I was well down the plane on the aisle and feeling a bit sad (not 'sad' from Derby Day I hasten to add). I looked vacantly down the plane to see a name tag "David Morgan" swinging from a lanyard and coming my way. It was David - larger than life and straight from the racetrack ("didn't see a single horse, Darlin'"). He'd been snapping.
By chance we were sitting a seat away from each other, so the chap in the middle kindly swapped seats and Dave and I settled in for one of the greatest chats we'd had in years. No work to distract us - and he knew I needed chirping up. He shouted a couple of rounds and talked about everything from what had happened the day before (fascinating) to his favourite photographer Nuri Ceylan - a Turkish photographer and filmmaker he put me on to when I returned from Turkey in June.
http://www.nuribilgeceylan.com/
We talked motorbikes, shared memories, about him nursing his parents - all sorts.
We parted when the plane landed. Dave took off to arrange for his girlfriend to come and pick him up and I headed for the cab rank.
It was the last time I saw him and it was unforgettable.
This morning I found a postcard he sent me from the Cannes Film Festival. We had both been at the festival three years running for work, then in 2002 I wasn't there. "Dear Kym: Where Are You? Dave Morgan xx" read my postcard from Cannes.
I reckon I get to ask the question back now.
"Dear Dave: Where Are You? Kym xx"