The colour yellow. Not a colour I wear very often, except for the odd raincoat, but a colour that is all around me at the moment in the form of daffodils and wattle. It is a cheering colour, especially when it acts as the harbinger of warmer weather. Yellow …

I feel a little like I have fallen down a rabbit hole and joined Alice’s tea party in Wonderland. It started when I asked a long-suffering locked-down Melbourne friend if there was anything she particularly wanted me to write about. Her suggestion was …

2020. A year that’s grinding its way past notable occasions to its inevitable end in 125 days. A year of broken dreams, fear, frustration and grief. Grief for all we’ve lost; grief for what we might yet lose. For most of us, a year like no other. I’m …

There are some food combinations that are absolute winners. One is cauliflower and cheese – especially when the cheese component is a good gruyere. Add a little truffle, sage and browned butter and you have a real winter treat. That does not suit everyone, …

There is something magical about the relationship between cabbage cooked with a little vinegar and the fattier meats, such as pork and duck. The inherent sweetness of cabbage and the bite of the acid sits beautifully against the richness and softness …

Midwinter heralds the best of Australian oranges. They bring a lovely cheer to the drab, grey days. And for many, this certainly is a winter of discontent. Not only does Australia produce fantastic oranges – perfect as a healthy snack, as an accompaniment …

It is no secret that a good roast chicken is one of my favourite things. I smear chickens in butter and roast them. I soak them in buckets of brine and then roast them. But in the depths of winter I love nothing more than to pot roast them. A pot-roasted …

What would you do if you found out that your neighbour was making vodka from another neighbour’s potatoes? Well, if you are anything like me, you would have a sudden and burning desire to make pierogi, the wonderful Polish take on a double-cooked dumpling. I …

Having too many carrots is not a problem I usually face. Like many growers and producers across the land, the coronavirus pandemic has thrown our ordered existence into chaos. I grow a lot of carrots. The earth that I farm is rich, deep, volcanic soil …