fig & almond tart

Weights and measures, not exactly the sexy part of life in the kitchen. And not something I have tended to spend my idle hours mulling over. That was until a recent calamity that took place in my tiny kitchen. A calamity that has had my thoughts increasingly turning toward measures in general and weight in particular. Yes, my friends, my kitchen scales have died. Read the rest of this entry »

white bean & black cabbage soup

A few weeks ago I was talking with some friends about restaurant menus and the increasing trend for each dish to have an essay attached to it. Apart from the extra time required to actually read the menu, we concluded that it’s great that there’s more information being exchanged on the restaurant front. The more people know about what they are eating and where it comes from can only help to make us punters more discerning diners. And this in turn can only increase the standards we demand from our restaurants which can only be healthy for our food scene. Read the rest of this entry »

individual vegetarian moussaka

Recently, I was at a wedding of two dear friends who have been together since our university days. As expected, it was a truly memorable evening complete with endlessly flowing champagne, delicious food, candle light,  speeches - some touching others downright hilarious, twinkling views of Sydney harbour, and a chance to catch up with old friends both local and scattered around the globe. Read the rest of this entry »

polenta tarts with roast mixed mushrooms 

Kitchen phobias can be pretty funny things. While some, like artichokes stem from seemingly complicated instructions and fear of failure, others are founded on  much more potentially treacherous risks. Deep frying is one such thing that I tend to shy away from, particularly for dessert after a well wine-ed meal. But it might surprise you, dear reader, to learn that until recently, polenta was high up on my list of things to avoid. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the last month or so it feels like I have barely been home. Which probably is because, well, I haven’t. Between trips to the family farm to visit my mum there has been a delightful country weekend with the girls in Orange and a trip to Melbourne to check out their eligible bachelors. All good fun but it did mean that it had been quite some time since I had made my usual weekend pilgrimage to my favourite fruit & veg joint. Read the rest of this entry »