Negative Ions and Gnocchi
Three Small Things That Are Everything
Autumn 2026 | Edition 54
Smells Like Sand and Seaweed
Low tide. 6:30am. 19.8℃. Shark Island Swim.
We shuffle through the sand, I don’t want to step on a stingray. I dive straight into a thick wall of seaweed, slimy and scratchy across my skin. A few strokes and I'm out the other side, floating in clear water, pieces of seaweed drifting around like space junk.
Chin to chest torpedo style, cutting through the chop. It's against us the whole way out. We round the island, turn back, and now the current and wind are behind us. Smooth sailing all the way home.
This is the swimming I love, when it requires effort from me. Too flat and my mind chatters. Chop or swell and I’m right in the moment.
Every morning gets colder from here on in, swimming is a non-negotiable for me, rain hail or shine.
If I don’t go I’m miserable, when I do, I’ve won the day.
Rate My Dinner, You're Kidding?
Rate my chef husbands dinners? What, am I crazy? I don’t bite that hand that feeds me.
This week. Gnocchi. But the little balls of potato weren’t the hero of the dish. Wild rocket, chilli that dances on your tongue, spiky lemon and a good Italian pecorino cheese. It was everything else James brought to the dish.
James rates it a 7/10. “I quite liked it. I liked the flavours. It’s such a classic combination.”
He’s such a beautiful cook and right now he’s only cooking for the people he loves.
