food
dessert
dessert September 11, 2021
In the northern rivers district of New South Wales at this time of year, ash regularly falls from the sky. It’s the result of burning sugarcane – a crop that is fairly prolific in this area but perhaps not as much as it used to be. Burning sugarcane...
dessert June 19, 2021
A bee sting cake is a staple of the German cake stand. It is usually baked in a cake tin and then split and filled with a vanilla pastry cream. It’s not a cake, though; it’s actually a bread. In my version here I like to make oversized individual...
food May 8, 2021
Pistachio and raspberry mille-feuille
Nothing says “I love you” more to my mother than a bit of pastry frippery for afternoon tea on Mother’s Day. And what could be better than a slightly more modern take on the vanilla slice? A lovely pistachio and raspberry mille-feuille. While the...
food April 24, 2021
The pomegranate tree is a delightful specimen in any garden, and at this time of year its amazing fruit is ready to be harvested. It is a fruit that fascinates me on every level. From its etymology to its symbolism, it is full of wonder. Its English...
food March 6, 2021
Nectarine and thyme granita with plums and ice-cream
Stone fruit generally arrives at the beginning of summer, whereas in a shaded corner, at altitude, in a southern orchard, those last remnants of ripe fruit can appear as late as the beginning of autumn. Previously, I have written about how fickle...
food September 12, 2020
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...
food September 5, 2020
Oranges with olive oil, pistachio and black pepper
This recipe is all about the pistachio spice mix. For as pleasant as it is to enjoy this orange salad, the kicker is that you now have excess spice mix that can be kept in a sealed jar for months. It works equally well on your morning porridge as it...
food May 9, 2020
If you’re to believe what you read on social media these days, everyone is becoming a baker during isolation. Of course, I have done a lot of baking in my life, so my interest was piqued when I happened across a link to an English baker, Adam Pagor...
food April 4, 2020
Coconut sticky rice with grilled mango
Summer is over. But we can still enjoy the last of the fruits we associate with the season and, hopefully along with them, a few more warm, sunny days. End-of-season and tree-ripened fruit that have had a longer “hang time”, perhaps in cooler...
food March 28, 2020
Sweet, sweet childhood memories. These are the things we often cling to when the future is uncertain and frightening. Innocence. Simplicity. Uncomplicated times. I think of such moments and my mind conjures an image of the blackberry pie that went...
food February 29, 2020
The word fondant has multiple uses in the French cooking vernacular. In no particular order it could be a white icing, a gooey chocolate pudding or a way of cooking potatoes. The icing version is what you often find atop fancy French vanilla slices...
