Welcome to Part Two of Side Dishes, The Food Podcast mini series exploring the Flavours of Home.
In this episode, Australian writer Maggie MacKellar shares the flavours of her home on a Tasmanian merino wool sheep farm.
Maggie begins with thoughts on…
“learning to cook for shearers, and growing our own meat, and about picking walnuts down by the creek, and digging potatoes…”
But then life gets in the way, pushing the flavour definition in wildly different directions.
“I sat in the cold, and knew home was not just a flavour on my tongue, it wasn’t about a scent, or a meal, it was about memory and the web of connections that stretch beyond the boundaries of our skin, through our animals, into the land we live on, and then out into the world beyond.”
Maggie and I met through this podcast, then quickly became supporters of each other’s work. We’re modern-day pen pals of sorts; similar women on different sides of the world.
“We have the commonwealth in common. And a love of stories. We’re descendants of people who chose a new life in a new place. But she has drawn upon the tenacity required of those pioneer women, in a way I never have… maggie has experienced the loss of a husband. And a mother. She raised her young children alone. And then, she started fresh in Tasmania. With her kids, a new partner, and her beloved horse.”
Woven through the episode is The Be Good Tanya’s Dog Song 2, a song that’s serenaded every flavour of my life.
I hope you have a listen. It’s a special one.
Mentioned in this episode…
- The Be Good Tanyas Dog Song 2
- Marie Harris, poet
- Tom Robert’s Bailed Up – Art Gallery of New South Wales
- When It Rains by Maggie Mackellar
Find Maggie MacKellar on twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
Maggie’s books are available where all good books are sold.
*Photo credit Maggie MacKellar