food

The wild oat, Avena fatua , is a common plant that is as tall as its relative the cereal oat. It is also a pernicious weed that has infested sowing fields for centuries, is difficult to remove and is absolutely useless as a grain crop. No wonder the...

I don’t think I’d be able to count the number of fish I’ve cooked in my life. But no matter how many, I still really enjoy it. And even though cooking fish in a bag is arguably the most simple and commonly practised method, it does deliver the hits...

For me, there is always a correlation between classical music and classic recipes. While it may be argued that the music of Lully or Bach or Saint-Saëns simply reflected the trend of the moment, the sheer longevity of classical music sets it apart...

This year the New South Wales government announced it will spend $9 million on a deer control program delivered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Methods used will include trapping and baiting along with aerial culling. All of which allow...

The days are shorter, the skies are blacker, and winter is upon us. The vestiges of late autumn fruit still linger at the greengrocer. If you are not a preserver but have pantry shelves lined with quinces for “tomorrow”, there is still time to...

It was a slow start to Victoria’s wild mushroom season this year. Very little rainfall early in autumn means we haven’t seen large quantities of the two wild mushroom varieties that are prolific along the fringes of pine plantations. Pine mushroom...

As the weather turns cooler, the perennial question arises of what to feed my vegetarian friends when they come to dinner. Summer is easy – composed salads, grazing plates, light pastas – but as we move towards winter we often rely on the rich stews...

Persimmon is a relatively difficult fruit to use fresh. The Western palate prefers it, with its fairly savoury and vegetal flavour, “blet”. Bletting is the process of letting the fruit overripen and ferment in its own skin, therefore transforming...

There are some seemingly basic dishes that if cooked in a run-of-the-mill way become just that. Run of the mill. Ordinary. French toast is a perfect example. The American version that populates many cafe breakfast menus is a slice of sandwich bread...