The Inside Peep

A Going Out Top, Spicy Marg Fixings and What to Do with Mulberries.

Highly Enthused is a newsletter, once a podcast, concerning all the best things to consume in life. It’s written twice per month by Sophie McComas-Williams and Sophie Roberts, and today’s dispatch is written by SoMo! The majority of each newsletter is free, but there are five extra recs in each for paid subscribers. That’s often where the gold nuggets lie. Thanks for being here!

Hi! Missed you. How are you? Are you hungry? Have you tried this new canned kombucha? Did you get to that pilates class you wanted to try? Buy that moisturiser we all keep getting targeted with? Getting your 10k steps in? Thinking about Christmas presents already? How are your parents? And your sister? Will it be hot this weekend? Work busy? I had the weirdest dream, you were there! Have you heard how cool Athens is these days? Got any travels coming up? How about any new recipes? Found a cheap wine you like yet? Do you meditate? What lip colour is that? And the fragrance? You’re amazing. So busy! Great to catch up!

There’s nothing that thrills me more than a hot new lunch option within close proximity to the office. Ama opened on Cooper Street in Surry Hills with a riot of colour and the scent of beefy, brothy noodles and we were there on its second day. A Chinese-Thai combo and a recipe that’s been in the owner’s family since the ‘60s, Ama’s signature bowl of beef noodles with offaly beef balls, brisket, chopped greens and noodles (glassy rice or bouncy egg, the choice is yours) is strong in flavour and ultra warming. I’m heading back for the Thai congee next.

I’m in one of those phases when I have four books on the go, in various formats. I’m listening to Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto on Audible as I drive to and from work and it’s as incredible as everyone says, about a hostage situation in South America that descends into an unexpectedly almost sweet, life-changing moment for almost everyone involved, terrorists included. On my nightstand is Zoe Foster Blake’s newbie, Things Will Calm Down Soon, which so far is giving me the inside peep into the architecture of her beauty company, Go-To, which I’ve always wanted, even if delivered in her sometimes-to-much manner. In the kitchen is the one-two punch of Toddler to Table, from Luka McCabe of Boob to Food, which is giving me some much-needed kid-dinner inspo, and Good Cooking Every Day by sweetie Julia Busuttil Nishimura, which is giving me much-needed adult dinner inspo. On the list from the latter are Greek fennel fritters, creamy pasta alla norcina with sausage and nutmeg and her sesame flatbread. Wowee!

Coming in hot with a v timely springtime activity that’ll cost you nothing, it’s mulberry season! The everyman’s fruit, found overhanging fences and on curbs everywhere. I love the hunt for trees around the neighbourhood to pillage each October, pinching fat black berries from branches low enough to reach. My rule is, if it’s dangling on public property, it’s a free-for-all. My favourite thing to make when you’ve picked way too many (always) is Mulberry shrub, a tart, vinegar-spiked cordial which when topped with soda is absolute heaven. Of course SoRo on a similar berry bender made what looks like incredible ice cream and I’m awaiting the invite to come taste!

A quick-fire rundown of the miscellaneous finds we’ve loved this month. In this edition: A Going Out Top in five diff colours, Spicy Marg fixings, the summer’s most beautiful tablecloth, a soft and buttery PJ set and the seasoning you probably don’t have yet but probably need.